By Jane Cho, Interhigh Mentor, Senior @ UC Berkeley

1 Corinthians 8:1-4

Reflect on the contrast between knowledge that puffs up and love that builds up.
We Christians can know a lot about the Bible, doctrine, church life, etc.but we are in danger of arrogance if that keeps us from building others up. Having grown up in the church, I fall into this danger a lot. I often use my knowledge of Christianity to critically judge other believers and feel superior to them instead of using what I know to encourage them towards greater obedience to God. For example, I had a lot of self-righteousness growing up…I thought that because I didn’t skip school or get piercings I was better than others. I didn’t have the proper sympathy for people who were lost in sin and needed my concern and prayers.

In the gray areas of Christian life, I need not abuse my freedoms but out of love be sensitive and sympathetic to the weak consciences of my brothers and sisters, so that they may not be shaken and tempted to sin. For example, I am free to eat desserts as a Christian, but I may choose to temporarily abstain from them, in solidarity with my sister who is struggling to resist binging on sweets. In controversial matters, I know that I can be really set on who’s right or wrong, but what matters more is whether I am loving and yielding to the needs of my brother or sister. This is how I can love Christ.

By Ashton Lee, InterHigh Mentor, Senior @ UC Berkeley

Reflect on the contrast between knowledge that puffs up and love that builds up.  Have I been pursuing things that add value to my ego in some way, or have I been pursuing love that focuses on others?

Before I became Christian, I lived namely to pursue the things that “puffed up” my ego.  This manifested itself in my pursuit of the love and affection of others and my ability to please them.  I sought other people’s approval of myself, my actions, my opinions, and my appearance and my ego would never be satisfied unless I had their favor.  I realize now that I lived very selfishly, seeking to be the girl that everybody liked.  I wanted to be needed, valued, and loved and I sought that through praise and approval.  Because of this, I had a very narrow scope of the world around me.  I was unloving and concerned only with my own pride and ego.  Eventually, I grew tired of this path.  In the midst of trying to please others, I started to lose my own identity and searched for a different way to live.

Since becoming Christian, I am learning to pursue love that focuses on others instead of myself.  The story of the woman with the alabastar jar is an accurate depiction of what it looks like to love someone else so deeply as she pours out her perfume for Jesus.  We are called to live unselfishly, to be broken and poured out for others.  Loving others doesn’t necessarily always have to be something extravagant.  It can even be something as small as asking a friend how they’re day was or helping your mom or dad with the groceries.  Loving others means taking the focus off of yourself and your own feelings long enough to see the needs around you.