1 Corinthians 4:8–13
Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Quite apart from us you have become kings! If only you had become kings, so that we might be kings with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, as though sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to humans. We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are sensible people in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are naked and beaten and homeless, and we grow weary from the work of our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly. We have become like the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things, to this very day.
Paul was not one to mince words when writing to churches he had poured blood, sweat and tears into. He had high expectations and did not hide them. This is reflected in his words to the believers in Corinth. He calls out the comfort and self-assurance of some believers in contrast to the suffering and vulnerability that marked the lives of the apostles. Paul reminds the church that the call of Christ is not marked by status or acclaim but by sacrificial service, even when it looks like foolishness to the world.
The idea of power in weakness and wisdom in foolishness was lived out in the life and work of Myles Horton. Born poor in the Appalachian South, Horton rejected the exploitation of workers and the comfort of neutrality. His life’s work, especially through the Highlander Folk School, focused on equipping others to lead. His approach to education and organizing was radical: not telling people what to think but helping them discover their voice and power. This spirit of empowerment led him into the work of the Civil Rights Movement.
Attendees of the Folk School found a method rooted in respect, humility and mutual discovery. Horton reminded them that transformation doesn’t begin with loud declarations but with quiet presence — eating with people, speaking their language, respecting their fears. As one attendee put it, “Go to their homes, eat with them, talk the language they talk … (only) then go into your talk about the vote.” In doing this training and work, they embodied the “fools for Christ” Paul described — mocked by the powerful, yet builders of a just world.
There are those around us in the world who are trying to convince everyone that power and domination are the tools that “win the day.” As followers of God, we are called not to dominate, but to serve. Not to be above others, but beside them. Faithful discipleship requires us to sometimes resist the call of comfort and instead embrace the cross-shaped path of solidarity.
Prayer: God of the lowly and the lifted, thank you for the witness of Paul, Myles Horton and countless others. Teach us to live with humility, to organize with respect, and to speak with courage. May we occasionally be fools in the world’s eyes but faithful in yours. Amen.
The Rev. Todd Davidson is the pastor at Sandston Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia. He has worked in and for the church for almost all of his adult life. He enjoys reading, movies, music, any and all sports, and most of all being a dad to Caleb and Isaac.
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