By Tina Chan, InterHigh Mentor, Senior @ UC Berkeley

Reflect on the spirit Apostle commends here of gentle yielding of rights for others and for the sake of not unnecessarily causing negative reactions in others within the church. What “rights” or ‘freedom” do I insist on which can potentially threaten the unity of the church?

Paul asks, “Is it proper..?” What is proper for me to do in the context of a church? Given the urgency of the Great Commission and allowing the gospel to manifest in my life, it is only proper that I let some petty things go for the sake of the church as a whole to work better together. Sometimes the question boils down to “Is it really that big of a deal?” And often, it’s not that big of a deal to give up the lesser in recognition of the greater.

Do I really have to give up that extra nap when I know I can use that time more wisely? Should I really clean up my apartment in case sometime is coming over later? Do I really have to pray for my friends’ salvations? Must I meet up with my peer who is hurting and needs a sister when I’m really tired? Do I really have to be faithful in my studies in order to steward my status as a student? Do I really have to forgive my friend who hurt me multiple times? No, I suppose I don’t have to do any of these things. I suppose it’s my “right”, and I am free to… but… this is not the hill I want to die fighting for.

The small choices I make often are more than small choices; they are often choices between being selfish or being spent for others, fostering community or making barriers, ultimately being available or being too busy for God. Where does my heart lie? As a church, we need to love each other, confess to one another and get accountability, forgive one another, pray for one another, urge each other on in the faith, and create an atmosphere where others can also find God. There is so much to do, how can I cling on to my own petty “rights” that aren’t so important in the grand scheme of things anyway? Is it really that big of a deal for me to give up my own agenda so that I can love others? If my priorities are aligned with God’s, what matters to Him should matter a lot to me.  Therefore, my laziness and selfishness needs to take a backseat, because I’d rather be somewhere loving and building others up.  It’s the only proper thing to do.

By Brian Phegley, InterHigh Mentor, Senior @ UC Berkeley

What warnings does this passage give to modern day Christians’ adoption of secular conventions?

Christians are supposed to be the light of the world, making an impact on everyone who meets them with their way of life and thinking.  Yet so often, we take on the values of the world, even if we didn’t mean to do so.  We want to relate to the values of our friends, and we don’t want our Christianity to come in the way of our relationships.  So instead of making clear our thoughts and values, we let the values of the world filter through us.  This could be as simple as letting others use profane language in front of us, or it could be as difficult as a direct challenge on moral issues like abortion and euthanasia.  Sometimes, it’s more subtle.  Being in college, the implicit understanding many of my non-Christian friends hold is that studying and reaching for success is the most important aspect of life.  And it’s difficult to bring up the idea that this might not be the case.  The problem with this is we often come to take on these values ourselves by implication, rather than be the people of God, and others who view us will make light of our faith, as it does not appear to hold much power.  Thereby, I follow Apostle Paul in his warning to the women to continue my struggle to make myself clearly distinct from the world, and living a life of righteousness.

By John Ng, InterHigh Mentor, Junior @ UC Berkeley

Reflect on the spirit Apostle Paul commends here of gentle yielding of rights for others and for the sake of not unnecessarily causing negative reactions in others within the church. What “rights” or ‘freedom” do I insist on which can potentially threaten the unity of the church?

Paul commends the spirit of humility and the respect that people in the community of the church can have for their leaders and other church members.  These people may be strong in their faith and may not be in any problem with trusting the Lord.  However, they are part of the Church, they are not disconnected parts to the whole Body of Christ.  If they can recognize the spirit of humility and let go of these potential causes of breaking the harmony of the Church, they will show a maturity of understanding sacrifice for the sake of their brothers and sisters in Christ.

One of the freedoms in my life that could potentially break the harmony of the Church is in the little things that I do with my free time, like spending time watching Youtube videos, listening to music that promotes un-Christian values, and playing video games with low moral standards.  Though for myself I don’t necessarily find myself tempted or following the values of these different things, the fact that they promote worldly values contrary to Christ’s teachings show that I implicitly agree or have no quarrels with the world’s values.  Not only that, but the fact that I participate in these things might allow younger brothers in Christ to use me as an excuse for not living a life devoted to God.  As an older brother, I must always watch myself to be a blameless example for all my younger brothers.

What warnings does this passage give to modern day Christians’ adoption of secular conventions?

We must be very careful with the way that we live.  As representatives of Christ, we are called to live a holy life, one that is set apart and made whole by the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross.  Since we are believers in God, we should be living lives that show that we actually hold fast to what we have been taught.  Like the Israelites were set apart from the tribes around them, we Christians must constantly remind ourselves of how we must be set apart from the world’s temptations as well.  It is difficult to do, with all the images of the media constantly hammering us with values that only uphold that the physical outside appearance is what matters and with teachers and friends challenging our faith with “reason”.  As a representative of Christ, we cannot conform to the pattern of the world, especially in light of the fact that we may be the only example of a Christian that people might actually see.  I think of 2 Timothy 4:2 to “Preach the Word; [and] be prepared in season and out of season” and that often the greatest testimony is through the way that I live, whether at church or at school.