Bad news. I didn't make worship team when I tried out! Should we put it up to a vote? Yeah, they told me I have a voice for preaching, not for singing. So I guess I'll continue with what I'm doing. So here I am!
Just a quick poll. How many of you are fans of the show "Undercover Boss"? Here's a word of advice. If a camera crew ever shows up at your workplace, don't cuss at the customers or talk about how bad the CEO or company may be. Talk about your kids, and how they want to go to the very finest medical school, or Harvard, or something.
I do enjoy "Undercover Boss". Despite the way people criticize the show and the pomposity of the CEOs of corporate America, I wouldn't want to live in any other nation. Would you? The people on "Undercover Boss" who impress me the most are usually first generation immigrants-- people who have a sense of perspective and a sense of gratitude for the opportunities the American system affords them.
What I like even more is the simple reminder that every person matters. The CEO often gets the glory, and perhaps he should, especially if he assumed all the risk, dreamed the dream, and built the business. Yet it's the person working in the trenches day in and day out who sustains the success, and builds upon the success, and is the future of any enterprise. Boy, that is just as true of the Church as it is of a corporation.
When I first got the idea for this sermon series I thought of Paul's letter where he admonishes the Corinthian church saying in 1 Cor 11:17 (ESV), "But in the following instructions, I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse."
So what was the problem? What was going on? Well, the people in the church were valuing one another from a worldly point of view instead of from a heavenly point of view. When we see this on "Undercover Boss", it's one thing. We have lower expectations for corporate America. But when we see this in the Church, it's not good! We should value one another differently in the Church!
In 1 Corinthians 11 we get a glimpse of what it looks like when the world creeps into the Church. In Roman times, the Church met in the homes of wealthy members. Per Roman customs, the wealthy and influential would gather in the back of the home, enjoying choice meat and wine, and one another's exclusive company. Meanwhile, the poor and less affluent would gather in the front of the home, where they were served inferior food and drink, and given inferior accommodations.
What you need to know is exactly what Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 11:22. Intentionally or not, people were made to feel despised and humiliated. And what amplified people's envy and resentment was the rather blatant, in-your-face gluttony, drunkenness, and excess of the in-crowd.
This kind of takes us back to the whole premise of "Undercover Boss". Within any enterprise there is almost always a value gap. Slowly over time, those at the top become aloof to those serving at the bottom. We're not talking about class warfare here. There will always be differentiation within the body of Christ. There will always be some who are exceptional producers, who can turn five talents into ten. And there will always be one talent people who squander the opportunities they do have, and forfeit what could have been.
In the Bible, God takes the talents and abilities of the squanderers and gives it to the producers to multiply. If everyone sold everything they had and gave it to the poor, two things would result. One, the poor would still be poor and two, those who sold everything would find a way to build back their wealth.
But we're talking about something much deeper than economics here. We're talking about an attitude that exalts one class of people while it denigrates another. In the Church, one shouldn't be getting drunk while another person goes hungry. One shouldn't be exalted while others are being despised and humiliated. There shouldn't be two different tables-- one for the in-crowd and the other for the out-crowd.
What Paul reminds the Corinthians is there's ONE table, ONE cup, ONE Lord, and ONE body. In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (ESV) Paul says, "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, 'This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
There are two ways we can communicate value to one another. One way is with words. Words can be pretty cheap. Anyone can say, "I love you." But the other way we communicate value is with action. People discern their value not just because of things we say, but because of things we are willing to do or the price we're willing to pay.
This past week we celebrated all the brave men and women who have died for this nation. Anyone can say he loves our country, but some back it up with sacrifice. Likewise, we can profess our love for God. But what does it say that the Son of God actually broke his body and shed his blood to set us free from sin and death?
At the Lord's table you had a Roman hating zealot, a Roman loving tax collector, a band of grungy fishermen (no offense to Tony Waters), a dusty carpenter (assuming Jesus' brother James was a carpenter), and a soft-handed scholar of the Torah (assuming Bartholomew is Nathaniel). But they all sat at ONE table. And just as importantly, they all found their value in one thing--- in what Christ was about to do for them!
If you ever wonder about your value, remember that Christ died for you. If you ever wonder about the value of another person, remember that Christ didn't just die for you, but for her also.
This is what Paul means in 1 Corinthians 11:28 (ESV) when he says, "Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup." He commands us to examine ourselves. But this is also what it means in 1 Corinthians 11:29 (ESV) when he speaks of discerning or
considering the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:29 (ESV) says, "For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself."
Our value is not in our net worth. It's not in our performance, our athletic ability, our physique, or our singing ability, thank goodness! Our value is not in our academic credentials, our associations and affiliations, our titles or positions, our appearance, our skin color, or what some CEO does or doesn't do for us. Our value is in what Christ did for us.
Some people new to our church often ask why we celebrate the Lord's table (communion) every week. It's simple really. All week long we get beat down by the world. We're told that our worth is in how many widgets we make, how many phone calls we return or deals we close, in how much money we make, how many field goals we score or babies we have. We are told that our worth is in whether we're married or single, more educated or less educated, connected or unconnected, in the 80% or in the 20%, or part of the in-crowd or the out-crowd. Isn't it good to know that there is one place you can go where you can be regarded from a heavenly point of view?
Next week we're going to talk about how serving others conveys how much God values them. We can say all we want about the love of God, but until we discover our spiritual gifts and roll up our sleeves and serve, people won't get it. I encourage you to read 1 Corinthians 12 before next week.
Let me end with one last comment. Who is responsible for building value into people? Is it the CEO? Is it the boss? Is it the pastor? No, of course not. It's something we are all accountable for-- for as many as partake of the table of our Lord.