All things to all people

Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 9 seems to be quoted often as a rallying cry for Christians and our ministry to the lost.  I've heard youth pastor's quote it for students to overlook social cliques in school for the sake of the gospel, I've heard college pastor's use it to urge students that regardless of fraternity, school, or even attitudes about alcohol, we are called to those who are different from ourselves.  I've heard pastor's use it to encourage their congregations to view their neighbors as a field ripe for harvest, and to do whatever it takes to win them for the gospel.  All could be right applications, but may miss the mark.  With all due respect to those who have used the passage in the previous ways, I think they are missing the magnitude of Paul's statement.  Each time I go overseas and enter into a foreign culture I am reminded of the immense sacrifice Paul is making for the sake of the gospel.

Last Friday I returned from Thailand having spent a week on the ground working with some mission partners in Chiang Mai.  The trip was an incredible opportunity to see what the Lord is doing in the lives of, and through brothers and sisters in Christ in Thailand.  Though we were setting aside our preferences when it came to certain details of our day to day life such as what we had for breakfast during our stay in Thailand, what Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians 9 was still greater than merely laying aside preferences on meals.

The passage must be read in light of Philippians 3 or Acts 22 to understand the depths of Paul's allegiance not only to Judaism, but to the Pharisaical strand of the faith, which practices great discipline and ostracism from the larger Graeco-Roman culture.  As Paul talks about becoming all things to all people he is talking about eating as a Gentile, something he once would have thought of as morally reprehensible.  He would have considered it unholy and forbidden by God.  It would have meant sitting with people he once would have avoided as sinners who were unclean.  All that changed when he came to Christ.  The gospel not only changed Paul's eternity, but it penetrated even the mundane details of his daily life.  Paul's perspective on people, food, and fellowship was forever transformed by Christ.  Ironically, Paul became less legalistic after coming to Christ.  Something that seems so strange because in most evangelical settings the opposite is true as many of us become more legalistic.  The reality of Paul's life is that he transitioned from law to grace, whereas most of us transition from grace to law.

The experience in Thailand reminded me once again of the sacrifices we are called to make for the gospel, that it should change every aspect of our lives.  I'm grateful for the way it changed Paul's heart and asking the question where are those areas in my life that it must continue to shine it's light?