We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.
1 Corinthians 4:13 (ESV)
The heavenly mindset of Paul is always a helpful barometer to examine my heart and soul. Paul encourages me to not just focus on the surface level appearance of presentation but to dig deeper and examine the cracks and crevices that are open within my heart. This passage from 1 Corinthians 4 is a good example of this. Paul is challenging the thinking and mindset of the Corinthian believers to move away from their pride, arrogance, and sense of entitlement in which they had grown accustomed. Their hearts were puffed up and filled with boasting over the blessings from God that they had been freely given. Paul is calling them back to a mindset of weakness and humility. He is calling them to be counter-cultural in their thinking. They are wanting to be seen as rich and wise in the eyes of the world, when they should be as “the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.”
I have just recently finished listening to the biography of Martin Luther by Eric Metaxas and this section of chapter four reminds me of Luther’s life. It was Luther against the world in a lot of ways, and he was considered the scum of the world by the leading powers. Luther was not perfect by any means and still struggled with these same prideful tendencies. In a lot of ways after he made his bold declaration to stand firm in his position that we are saved by faith alone in Christ alone, he could have taken hold of his popularity and become rich and a king in his own right. Yet, Luther embraced this “refuse of all things” mentality and continued to seek Christ alone through faith.
How does this impact my own heart? It’s a difficult question to answer. I want to live a life of weakness and humility but at the same time I want to be acknowledged and considered successful. I want to do great things for the cause of Christ, but I also want others to know about it and give me appreciation.
I need to embrace this mentality of being the “refuse of all things”. The mentality that the only thing that matters in this life is Jesus and Him glorified. God uses people to accomplish His purposes. I want to be a grateful participant. I want to work hard and be of excellent service to my Savior, yet be satisfied with that.
What I mean is that I want to be focused on serving my Savior by faith to the best of the ability that he has bestowed upon me. The joy and the reward are in the act of serving, not the outcome. I want to be so satisfied in Christ, that even as I am thought of as the scum of the world, I am rejoicing in the grace of Christ. Even when I am considered the refuse of all things in this world, I only see Jesus and his love for me.
I want to be humble and desperate for the continual fellowship Jesus. I want to be so enraptured with the love of Christ, that the desires of the world become white noise to me. Still there, but not distracting me from my primary purpose of serving my loving Father and his perfect Son in the power of the Spirit.