April 9
Concerning Love and Knowledge
I Corinthians 8
Key Verse: The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God.
I Corinthians 8:2-3
We may all learn a great deal from today's lesson. To do so, each of us must humble ourselves
and be willing to admit that we have not cared enough about our weaker brothers and sisters
within the church. Simply stated, we have too often allowed knowledge to overrule love in our
attitude toward others within the fellowship.
Forget about meat offered to idols. We no longer argue about such matters. We do, however,
constantly fall victim to the idea that we are better informed, and thus superior, to those we
consider the weaker Christians.
We are so easily "puffed up" by our knowledge. When this happens, we forget about our Lord's
admonition to love one another, especially those who lag behind in understanding.
Paul challenges us to put the spiritual welfare of our fellow believers ahead of our own
freedom, even to the point of relinquishing our own liberty so as to not offend a "weaker"
brother or sister. James Reapsome says it well: "Superior knowledge does not give Christians the
right to lord it over others."
It all boils down to this: if we are willing, we can do a better job of loving each other
within the church. To do so we must get down off our "high horses" and allow love to win in its
battle with superior knowledge.