Inside the Church, There Are Two Paths

Let us bring those lyrics into today’s context:

“Inside the church, there are two paths: pride and love. Which will you choose?”

Teachers and churches can often become trapped in pursuing knowledge alone. It can seem as though intellectual depth were the only path to salvation. But that is not what God intended. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul states firmly that even if we understand every mystery and possess all knowledge, if we do not have love, we are nothing.

Knowledge tends to make people proud, but love builds up.

Let each of us examine our own heart. Do the days we spend inside the church actually make us exalt ourselves and look down on others? We may think, “I know so much about Jesus, His genealogy, and the important dates in the Bible—unlike those who are too lazy to study.” Or, “I faithfully attend worship, tithe diligently, and praise reverently—unlike the church next door, whose worship looks like a disco.”

If that is what is happening, we are walking down the wrong path.

The more we know God, the more we should recognize that we ourselves are the worst of sinners. We see that we ourselves are unworthy before Him and that only because of Jesus are we made worthy. Truly knowing Him will not make us focus on polishing our own image. Instead, it moves us to regard others as more important than ourselves—shifting our focus from judging them to serving those in need.

Has love become the primary navigation for our ministry today?