Reading Through The New Testament In 2016. Day 141. 1 Corinthians 9

Hey there! Erik here for the next 5 days!

This is an interesting chapter to me. My whole life I’ve been taught to look out for myself first. When listening for instructions from flight attendants, I’m told to put the breathing mask on myself first. Star Magazine will tell me that I need to focus on bettering myself before doing anything else. Developing the self seems to be the thing that everyone focusses on. And then, if you have extra energy, or extra time, that’s when you develop past your self.

Then I look at these verses in 1 Corinthians 9: “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.”

I kind of think about what it means to being a slave to everyone. When it boils down, what is the point of us being here on this Earth? Are we here for our own self development? Are we here to grow ourselves and then… that’s it? No. The Great Commission states that we are to go out and make disciples. I see Paul taking this a step further, and saying that we are now slaves to everyone, for the purpose of bringing them into the Kingdom.

And yes, it’s important that you fuel yourself. It’s important that you put the oxygen mask on yourself first. You need air to function. You need the Holy Spirit to pour into you, so you can pour into others. You can’t exactly be a slave to anyone if you’re not functioning yourself. But fuel yourself for the purpose of serving others. People coming to know Jesus is the point of everything, so fuel yourself, but then be a slave to everyone, for the purpose of pointing them to Jesus.