If you have read this passage, you know that this is about Paul addressing this group regarding some disputes that have apparently ended up in public courts. For some context and background, according to my study Bible, in Paul’s time people could not bring cases against those who were superior to them socially (e.g., son versus father or slave versus master). As a result, the elite used the court system to display their superiority over others. Juries were also influenced by the social or political status of an individual, making it difficult for the marginalized to obtain justice. This would have also made it a little silly for these people, living under a Christian worldview and faith, to go to court and hope for a reasonable outcome. Effectively, the system was rigged against them. Now, we don’t know much else about this, but we can kind of infer that there must have been a bunch of this going on, and we can assume that there was a fair amount of it that was fairly frivolous or Paul wouldn’t have been addressing this.
Here is another thought on this though - think about the courts for a minute; are courts charged with doing what’s ‘right’ or what’s ‘legal’? Obviously it is the latter. Having been through a divorce, and a specific type of divorce with specific circumstances, I can definitely attest to the fact that the courts aren’t supposed to apply any real moral lens to what they are doing...they are just applying the law. Perhaps Paul is putting a message out there that we shouldn’t be dealing with legalities and legal limits, our issues should be addressed through a moral lens first. Think about how unappealing this ruling might be for some people, “Bob, yes, Mike did wrong in that he stole from you. Here is what we are going to do - Mike, you are going to ask for forgiveness and Bob, you are going to extend it.” That is not what Bob wants, especially not in a state of anger. And Mike probably doesn’t want to ask for forgiveness. But, if these two were to really explore that process and were to explore reconciliation, that would probably end the issue more times than not. Now, obviously, not all issues can be settled this way, and there are issues of murder and more serious cases and all of that, but MUCH of what is in our court system today is likely this kind of stuff...petty issues that the church should be able to handle if believers come in faith, ready to live out their faith, and seeking reconciliation rather than revenge. The courts are a place where people seek revenge in today’s world...I have to think that was somewhat similar to Paul’s time in a lot of ways...in some ways, people never change because sin was around then as it is now.
So, my question for today...am I living subject to God’s commands? Really? Or do I take what’s convenient and leave what’s not, and then look for ways to leverage the Bible for my benefit? That’s what so many of us do as believers, we use the Bible as a whip. This is a great thought to consider and to pray about today.