Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. – 1 Corinthians 14:1

Today's Scripture Reading (February 21, 2021): 1 Corinthians 14

There is a struggle in the contemporary church between orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Orthodoxy simply means right belief. And it is orthodoxy or right belief that receives most of our attention. Orthodoxy is at the center of our conversations and arguments. It is essential to know what it is that we are supposed to believe.

Orthopraxy receives much less attention. Orthopraxy means right practice, so orthopraxy exists at the level of our actions or what we do. And if our actions follow our beliefs, then orthopraxy will always follow orthodoxy. It is easy to assume that if we don't do the right things, then it must be because we don't believe the right things. As a result, pastors, priests, and spiritual teachers attempt to teach and stress the need to believe the right things; to be orthodox in our beliefs and thinking.

But that is not necessarily true. It is quite possible to believe the right things and yet not do the right things.  And as long as orthodoxy remains just an argument that we make, then it isn't very helpful. Orthopraxy is necessary if our faith is to have any importance in the world in which we live.

Paul has just argued for the primacy of love. And now he encourages the Corinthians not just to make love a verbal argument, but that they would actively follow the way of love; that the orthodoxy of love would be transformed into the orthopraxy of love. Paul encouraged them to go out and be the presence of love in the world. And if they loved, then they could eagerly desire the various gifts of the Spirit, especially the gift of prophecy. But love had to come first.

But Paul also seems to see a hierarchy here. Love must come first, but for those that have been given the spiritual gift of prophecy, it needed to be second. Too often, we see prophecy as the act of speaking about events that are coming in the future. Inside the Christian church, prophecy is most often tied to end-times theories and the second coming of Jesus.

But that not entirely true. Prophecy is often present in ordinary preaching and teaching. According to Paul, the essential characteristic of prophecy is that the one who prophesies speaks for the express purpose of strengthening, encouraging, and comforting those who are listening (1 Corinthians 14:3), which makes prophecy the perfect companion of love.

So, go out into the world and act in love. And if the Spirit has spiritually gifted you to prophesy, then do so in love. Then all who hear you will be strengthened by your love, encouraged by your love, and comforted by your love. And, because of love, the world will be transformed before our very eyes.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 15