Another way of living

English Standard Version Chapter 6

The Temple of the Living God

14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

17  Therefore go out from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing;

then I will welcome you,

18  and I will be a father to you,

and you shall be sons and daughters to me,

says the Lord Almighty.”

During holiday seasons, I enjoy indulging in special food. My favorite during this time of year is the Shoofly Pie. Nothing hits the spot quite like this.

Although the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage restricts this kind of culinary activity during the rest of the year, I tried to get a pass for it during the holidays. I don't care what holiday it is, a holiday is a holiday and deserves special food.

I don't remember when I had my first shoofly pie, I only focus on my next piece.

When I first brought it into the home, my wife asked me what in the world it was. I told her it was a Shoofly Pie..

Looking at me rather quizzically, she said, "What is a Shoofly Pie??"

Not even thinking about it, I smiled and replied, "It is a piece of heaven this side of heaven."

Then she wanted to know where in the world that name "Shoofly Pie" came from.

Not really knowing, I "baked up" a story I thought would please her.

The story went something like this. A lady in Pennsylvania was trying to make a special pie for her husband. It took her several days to figure out how she would make this special pie. Finally, she came up with something she had never seen before.

When presented to her husband, he was dumbfounded and said, "What is that pie?"

Before she could answer, a fly seemed to hover over the pie, and she swatted it and said, "shoofly." The husband looked at her and said, "That is marvelous. Whoever heard of a shoofly pie? You’re a genius."

And thus, the Shoofly Pie adventure began. Whether that comes near the story or not, it sounded good to me at the time, and I presented it to my wife.

Where we live, it's tough to find any Shoofly Pie. Typically, I have to order it from someplace up north.

Once we were at a nearby restaurant, I talked to the waitress about the Shoofly Pie of which she had never heard. My wife had the recipe, so we shared it with her. She wanted to surprise us with a homemade Shoofly Pie.

When she gave it to us, it was nothing like a real Shoofly Pie. We joyfully took it, but it really wasn't the real thing.

As I was thinking about this shoofly pie mystery, I thought of how this concept would work in other aspects of life.

For example. I would like to develop a Shoo-Politician Pie. Perhaps this would be a great experience for us. Every time we see a politician, we present him with a Shoo-Politician Pie. How much greater our life would be if politicians would not be the center focus of our life.

When a politician gives a speech, he or she will be charged one dollar per word. After all, one dollar isn't much and neither is there speech. Of course, this would need to be paid upfront. As soon as the politician reaches the end of his word count, everybody would say, "Shoo-Politician."

I think this would bring a lot of sanity back to our country today.

Then I thought of another pie to develop. I’ll call this the Shoo-Telemarketer Pie. This is second only to politicians.

To date, I have received over 1 million calls that said, "This is the last call you'll get to renew your car warranty."

I have searched my dictionary to discover what the definition of "last call" is. I guess it has a different meaning to different people. Even my wife agrees with me on this. And you know, that's a monumental achievement.

I don't know why they call them telemarketers, but I sure would like to tell them a thing or two.

Another pie I would like to develop would be the Shoo-Grumpy Pie. I have found so many grumpy people lately. I'm not sure where they come from and I'm not quite sure where they're going, but I do have my guesses.

I cannot identify with grumpy people because I'm not quite sure why they're grumpy. The thing I have noticed lately is, grumpy is not a matter of age. There are grumpy people of all ages. I'm not quite sure how this began.

If anybody has the right to be grumpy, it's someone like me who has to listen to those people who are grumpy.

How much happier this world would be if there were no grumpy people in it? I know there are grumpy moments, but that shouldn't be forever. Nothing is more frustrating than standing in line at the cash register behind some old grumpy customer exhibiting grumpy-itis. I wonder if it's contagious?

Thinking about this, my list is getting longer and longer. There are so many things that I would like to Shoo from my life that I probably need to go into the "Shoo Pie Baking Business."

Thinking along this line I remembered a verse in the Bible. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you" (2 Corinthians 6:17).

The older I get the more things I see that I need to “shoo” from my life. At times, it’s difficult, but the end result is what really matters. One last pie would be the “Shoo-Sin Pie.”

________

6: 14-18   Paul urges believers to not “team up with those who are unbelievers,” that is, to form binding partnerships or relationships with unbelievers because this might weaken their Christian commitment, integrity, or standards. It would be a mismatch. Earlier, Paul had explained that this did not mean isolating oneself from unbelievers (see 1   Corinthians 5: 9-10).

Paul even urges Christians to stay with their unbelieving spouses (1   Corinthians 7: 12-13). Paul wanted believers to be active in their witness for Christ to unbelievers but not lock themselves into personal or business relationships that could cause them to compromise their faith. Believers should do everything in their power to avoid situations that could force them to divide their loyalties.

These verses also have strong application to marriage. Paul did not want single believers to enter into marriage with unbelievers. Such marriages cannot have unity in the most important issue in life— commitment and obedience to God. Because marriage involves two people becoming one, faith may become an issue, and one spouse may have to compromise beliefs for the sake of unity. Many people discount this problem only to regret it later. Don’t allow emotion or passion to bind you with someone who will not be your spiritual partner. For those who have discovered God’s light, there can be no fellowship

6: 16   Quoting from the prophet Isaiah, Paul asserted that the church is the temple of the living God. Corinth had an abundance of temples of pagan deities, so the recipients of his letter were able to visualize the contrast the apostle intended. Those who follow Christ are not known by a building; they are known as those in whom the Spirit of God lives. The church is not where believers go, it is who they are. God is not waiting for his people in some stained-glass setting. He is always with them. That is a sobering and yet a comforting thought. How does your behavior reflect on the God you represent?

6: 17   Separation from the world involves more than keeping our distance from sinful practices; it means staying close to God. It involves more than avoiding worldly entertainment that leads to sin; it extends to how we spend our time and money. There is no way to separate ourselves totally from all sinful influences. Nevertheless, we are to resist the sin around us, without either giving up or giving in. When you know what God wants you to do, make a clean break with sinful practices.

So many people in relationships try to change the other person. Reminds me of the young fiancé who, after learning that her husband to be didn’t believe like she did, cried to her mother saying, “Mom, what should I do? How can I change his thinking? He says he doesn’t believe in hell?” The Mother said, “Honey, that’s alright, you marry him and both of us will make him believe in hell.”

J. K. Jones, professor at Lincoln: "We are best for our communities when we are most unlike our communities."