Day 15 - O.J., a Glove, and a Wardrobe
Yes, it’s a C.S. Lewis reference!
Scripture Passage: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13
Focal Verses: Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? ~ 1 Corinthians 4:6 (NASB 95)
Do you remember the O.J. Simpson trial? Some of you might not have even been born yet, but when it was going on, the trial was the biggest thing to hit T.V. since Dallas teased the world with “Who shot J.R.?” (I love dating myself, don’t I?)
From that first police ‘chase’ of the white Ford Bronco to O.J. trying to put on the glove while his attorney proclaimed, “If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit!”, our society was captivated by the drama of it all.
When it was going on, I had only been working in forensic death investigations for maybe a year, if that. My office was just as captivated with the trial as everyone else. And I’ll never forget the conversations we had when a bombshell was revealed one day that would pretty much change the course of of the entire trial. Seemed that someone at the L.A. Coroner’s Office had hung one (or both) of the victims’ bloody clothes in a drying closet (kind of like a wardrobe for drying bloody and soiled clothing) and for unknown reasons, fell from the rack and into a mop bucket filled with bloody water. Defense attorneys took hold of this (and many other potential irregularities in evidence collection, maintenance, and chain of custody) to cast doubt on the prosecution’s case. And we know the rest of the story. O.J. Simpson was effectively acquitted of the murders of two people. For right or wrong, the jury had no choice. Shadow of doubt was introduced into their minds due to perceived poor evidence collection techniques and possible contamination. It didn’t matter if these evidentiary ‘mistakes’ were true or not. Just the possibility that they happened cast the whole case into question. The jury, honestly, had no choice but to find the former football star ‘not guilty.’
In today’s passage, Paul warns the Corinthians of a similar problem they’re having. Potential for corruption of the evidence of Jesus Christ in their lives. They are allowing immorality to go unchecked within the congregation. Worse, they appear to be boastful about it. It reminds me a lot of today’s church bragging about how ‘tolerant’ they are.
But Paul warns that a little bit of leaven contaminates the whole lump of dough. A little bit of sin contaminates the Church as well. If we allow sin to go unchallenged within the halls of our local churches, the testimony of all who is part of that church will be guilty by association.
You might be wondering, “But I didn’t think we’re supposed to judge. How can we judge people when Jesus told us not to?” Judgment is a very nuanced subject and I need much more than a short devotional to go into it. However, here, let’s just say we’re not to judge those who don’t know Christ. Without the Holy Spirit, they don’t know any better.
Christians, however, are a different story. While we should never be judgmental, there are times we must practice discretion and correct our brothers and sisters in Christ. Out of love, not a haughty spirit. Out of compassion, not out of false piety. There are explicit guidelines set forth in Scripture to help guide a church family in doing this in a proper theological way, by the way (just do a Google search for ‘Church Discipline’ to find them all and talk to your pastor about it as well).
Finally, do you know no one in your local church living in a state of sin? Might want to turn the mirror on yourself then. Sin has a way of blinding Christians to the truth of things. It has a way of hampering our ability to hear the Holy Spirit speaking to us. And if anyone reaches out to you, concerned about some of your actions, listen to them with grace and appreciation. Right or wrong, it means they love you. Listen to what they have to say. Reflect on it without getting defensive or giving into knee jerk reactions. See for yourself if there’s any truth to it and if there is, do what you can do to repent to become aligned once again with God’s purpose for you.
Father God, help us to see sin for what it is. Help us to identify sin in our own lives, and humbly correct others in our lives living in active sin with the hope they will return in fellowship with you. Help us, God, to be compassionate and grace-filled, while still standing firm on what is right and wrong. Help us to remember that a little leaven can contaminate all of us.
Thank you so much for spending time with us today. I hope God is touching you in amazing ways with each of these devotional posts. If they are, I’d love to hear from you. Let me know what you think. Reach out if you have any prayer requests.
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