The apostle Paul told his...
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The apostle Paul told his warring friends at Corinth that each one of them was gifted.
They had tried to pick and choose preachers. They were at odds with one another. Who
was the best? Paul, Cephas, Apollos, or some other? They were divided over many
things. And Paul brought them back to reality by reminding them that each one of them
had a gift and each one of them was to use that gift for the common good.
This old term, "common good," has almost been forgotten. Corinth would only cease their squabbling and unite as one when they realized each gift they had been given was to build up the body of Christ -- to work for the common good.
Mark Twain could have been writing about Corinth when he said: "I built a cage, and in it I put a dog and a cat. And after a little training, I got the dog and the cat to the point where they lived peaceably together. Then I introduced a pig, a goat, a kangaroo, some birds, and a monkey. And, after a few adjustments, they learned to live in harmony. So encouraged was I by such successes that I added an Irish Catholic, a Presbyterian, a Jew, a Muslim from Turkestan, and a Buddhist from China, along with a Baptist missionary that I captured on the same trip. And in a very short while there wasn't a single living thing left in the cage."
This old term, "common good," has almost been forgotten. Corinth would only cease their squabbling and unite as one when they realized each gift they had been given was to build up the body of Christ -- to work for the common good.
Mark Twain could have been writing about Corinth when he said: "I built a cage, and in it I put a dog and a cat. And after a little training, I got the dog and the cat to the point where they lived peaceably together. Then I introduced a pig, a goat, a kangaroo, some birds, and a monkey. And, after a few adjustments, they learned to live in harmony. So encouraged was I by such successes that I added an Irish Catholic, a Presbyterian, a Jew, a Muslim from Turkestan, and a Buddhist from China, along with a Baptist missionary that I captured on the same trip. And in a very short while there wasn't a single living thing left in the cage."
