By Joe McKeever "I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some." –I Corinthians 9:22 Imagine someone saying, “I’ve decided to become all things to all people.”  You would wonder if they had a) lost their minds or b) chosen a shortcut to losing same. That’s quite an assignment Paul gave himself.  He would, he informs us, become… –as a Jew in order to reach the Jews. –as under the Law in order to reach those living under the Law. –as without the Law that he might win those who are without the Law –as weak, that he might win the weak And finally, as though to throw the net over the entire lost population, he says, “I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some.” How does he do that, we wonder.  Is the effective Christian worker to be schizophrenic, parceling himself out to this group and that group with the intention of winning them to Jesus?  And how does that work? Soon, Paul adds this bomb: I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. (I Corinthians 10:33). This is the same Apostle, by the way, who told the Galatians that he would never be a people pleaser! If I were trying to … [Read more...]