Our “state” in life… that station of life that we occupy. Today’s exhortation of St. Paul to the church in Corinth 
strikes a nerve: it’s not our state in life that’s important, but rather, what we do with it!
Four years ago Prince Charles spoke out about one’s state in life, expressing in a memo to a senior member of his household staff that, “What is wrong with people nowadays? Why do they all seem to think they are qualified to do things far above their capabilities?“ His comments ignited a short-lived controversy in the British Isles, because he pointed directly to the “child-centered schooling” and “social utopianism” as culprits in today’s youth striving to reach beyond their capabilities.
Ah, St. Paul, were times a bit simpler then? Somehow, I believe he would not have thought so. Paul’s point, in 1 Cor 7:25-31 is a call to seek fulfillment in God’s creative genius and to use, to the fullest, the gifts with which He has graced each of us.
St. Paul was in an eschatalogical frame of mind as he approached the believers at Corinth… the world, as he knew it seemed to be passing away. And so, these notes from the NAB neatly place Paul’s concern in context:
in the light of the second coming of Christ, it is not the state that is important but rather the use of it in a spirit of sacrifice… In this way all things are made subservient to the supreme end of preparedness for Christ’s coming in judgment.
The use of our state in a spirit of sacrifice… a posture of humility and acknowledgement of who we are in God’s creative plan. Perhaps after all, that’s where Prince Charles was headed all along!
Filed under: Homiletics, Reflections | Tagged: Corinthians, Prince Charles, social utopianism, St. Paul, station of life
