Fluffy Puff

A few days ago I was up early in the morning reading my bible and spending some sweet time with my God. I was so excited about a particular passage that I actually woke Matt up to tell him about it. I was reading in 1 Corinthians and I stumbled upon this:

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who think he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God. 1 Cor 8:1-3

I love that line: Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. I don't know about you, but I am thinking that being built is better than being puffed. It reminds me of the story of the 3 little pigs. One builds a house of straw, another a house of sticks, and the third a house of bricks. With a huff and a puff the evil wolf blows the first 2 houses down without much effort. But when said wolf faces the brick structure he finds himself unable to puff it down. . . I'm thinking the straw and stick houses are great pictures for the "puffing" up that Paul is talking about. They are weak and unstable, and on their own they do nothing to protect the terrified pigs from the evil one.

The interesting thing, though, is that in these verses it is actually knowledge that is the cause of the puffing up. That seems strange, doesn't it?

Our Christian culture places such a huge emphasis on knowledge. We are dubious about acquiring information, protecting that information, and informing others of the ways that they are misinterpreting or mishandling the information that we have so wisely gathered. Could it be that the pursuit of knowledge is not so holy and wonderful as we first thought?

Well, I can answer that question quickly: no. We are called to search out understanding and to seek wisdom. There is absolute truth and we are absolutely called to live by it. If we don't know and understand this gospel that we live then we will be unstable ourselves. . .

So what is Paul saying, then, if not that knowledge is bad?

I think he is telling us that knowledge is not everything. There is a point to which knowledge can actually cause us to stumble; a breaking point where the stuff we know begins to choke the life out of us.

The remedy for this problem? Love.

When we filter our knowledge through the love of Christ in us that knowledge becomes a source of strength rather than a burden to us or a yoke that we place on others. When love is behind our attempts to protect and preserve the truth, we are less puffed and more built. . .

There is so much more that we could glean from this passage of scripture; the wider context is so thought provoking and insightful. . . but for today, this is the challenge that I want to leave you with:

Sometimes our knowledge of right and wrong does more damage than good. Sometimes we need to be a little less focused on whether or not everyone is playing by the rules and a little more concerned about whether or not they have the love of Christ. If not, are they seeing it through us? Or are they seeing someone who is filled to overflowing with moral smarts and totally lacking in compassion, understanding, and the love that exceeds all understanding?

I don't know about you, but I want desperately to be built up in Christ. No more fluffy puff here, my friends. I will strive to work out my knowledge through the scope of God's amazing love, and while I will never sacrifice what I know is absolute truth, I will also never use it as a club to beat down those in my midst.

Knowledge and love.

Both. And.

End of story.