It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. – 1 Corinthians 5:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 5, 2014): 1 Corinthians 5

There is currently a revival of the debate over whether sports stars should be considered to be role models in the light of some very spectacular misbehaviours on the part of some of the elite players. In a world where our sports icons are frequently very well paid - minimum wage in most of the professional leagues is much higher than the average wage garnered by people outside of the industry - and also where these athletes command the attention and fame that is beyond the realm of possibility for most people, often the appearance is that these stars are living the life that for most of us only exists in our dreams. So these lives become the ones that many children dream about. They begin to emulate their favorite players. Whatever behavior they see is the behavior that they want reflect - millions of young fans simply want to grow up and be like their heroes. They dress like them, talk like them, wear their hair like them and in a very real way have already become the role models for millions of kids. I understand, as several people have recently argued, that they have not been hired and paid well because of the moral purity or because they exhibit a proper standard of behavior that would help a young fan mature and become an adult in our culture. In fact, some of them are still learning what it means to be a mature member of our society. They are hired simply because they can play the game. But whether or not they signed up to be somebody’s role model, the reality is that that is exactly who they are. None of us sign up to be role models, but when we gain the attention of the young around us who want to be just like us, that is exactly what we have become.

There are those who argue that this is simply unfair. They argue that professional sports leagues have no right to put a higher degree of expectation on these players than would be expected of the average person on the street. As well, it has been argued that the punishment of these players should not be heavier than that of the culture around them. The professional leagues should have no right to expel a player from playing in the game once they have cleared their debt to society for their wrong doing. In other words, Michael Vick should have suffered no longer an expulsion from the league for his involvement in the dog fights than was made necessary by his prison term, and Ray Rice should not be expelled from the NFL for any longer period than the law courts decide is necessary for the brutal treatment of his fiancé. But the sports leagues have argued the opposite, the league has a right to decide what behavior is appropriate for someone inside the league, what behavior matches the public image that the league desires to project – and because of this projected public image, the league has a responsibility to enforce their behavioral expectations on its members, behavior that is above what is demanded by the law of the culture in which they operate.

This is Paul’s point. It is evident that at least portions of the Corinthian Church had adopted a low moral view of Christian freedom - a view that allowed them to disregard the expectations of the culture. This may have been one of the reasons for the division within the church with some arguing for total freedom from cultural expectations while others argued for a higher view of Christian morality as taught by some of the key Christian teachers who had passed through the area. And the result was that some were doing away with even the most basic elements of the morality of the society. Paul is offended by this, and reminds the Corinthian church that they have to live within the greater culture, and to influence the people of that culture they would need to respect the morality of that culture. But beyond that, Christianity actually calls for a higher moral expectation of its members – and not a lower one. The Christian Church had a right to expect that its members would conduct themselves in such a way that brings honor to the church, and what was happening in this situation within the church was not bringing honor to the church (because the culture saw this as immorality), but it was also a misunderstanding of the Christian faith – and the idea that the demands of grace are always higher than the demands of the law.        

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 6