1 Corinthians 6:7 Lawsuits
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

By Marni Montanez

1 Corinthians 6:7 New Living Translation  

Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated?

If we let ourselves be cheated and treated unjustly what would this accomplish? It would accomplish peace in our own souls.  We would lay down the strivings that come from defending ourselves and meet each challenge with grace and forgiveness. To do so gives us the strength and clarity to fulfill the calling God has for us here on earth.  There are many battles to fight; too many. We can drown in the waters Satan is pushing us into.    

Unfortunately, we rarely let an injustice go, and by the world’s standards we need to fight and never tolerate being taken advantage of. There are times when we must take a stand against injustices and there are times when we must give up the fight.  Our victory is within the wisdom of knowing which is which.

History has revealed the consequences when one does not defend his or her self. During the time when Jews were being persecuted in Germany, they were taken in droves to concentration camps but if they had banded together to fight, they may have won, but very few actually fought back.  They went like lambs to the slaughter to their imprisonment and death.  In the Old Testament, the Jewish people were led into slavery under Pharaoh’s rule and were held captive for generations. They did not fight back either. 

We, in America, have it threaded throughout our history that fighting for our rights is expected and natural.  Most of us are taught at an early age that we must fight for ourselves. In times when families lived out on farms away from towns and their closest neighbor was miles away, they did not have easy access to the law and owning a gun was necessary for survival; especially against strangers with wrong motives and criminal intent. They learned quickly how to protect themselves.  

God has called His people to war against injustices.  By strengthening His servants for battle, He has freed groups of people who were under the tyranny of an evil government.  

What God is referring to in these verses is the pettiness of these lawsuits and attitudes that hinder us from receiving God’s justice. Some of these involve the courts and some result in damaging relationships and stirring up unnecessary trauma.  

God is always concerned with the condition of our hearts. He wants us to walk in such a way that would allow Him to be our defender.  At the cross He won the ultimate battle for us against the enemy of our soul.  There are causes to fight, but they are God’s causes not our own. They are causes that reflect the heart of God and His goodness.

Challenge: It is time to let go of the pettiness in our life and take up a God-cause.  Ask Him what He wants you to be involved in and then move forward in prayer for guidance.

God bless,

Marni

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The purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.