Be All Things

Just this week, in fact on the same day, my background of growing up in Minnesota really stuck out to me. Neither of them were a big deal, just small little reminders that even though I grew up in Minnesota, I’m now an Illinoisan. And my kids, though some were born in Minnesota, will probably consider Illinois their home, just like I consider Minnesota mine.
And as much as I love living in Astoria, I do miss Minnesota for various reasons, and have obvious roots that keep me tied to that state. Not least of which is my love for the Minnesota Vikings. Now, I’ve come to respect the love for the Cardinals and Cubs that many in this community have for their team. I’ve even found a way to tolerate those who claim to be Bears fans (at least tolerate more than Packers fans) but when I was reminded of my home base, I was also reminded of some words from Paul.
1 Corinthians 9.19-23 says, “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law…To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” (NIV)
So, as I pondered my love for the Vikings and the words of Paul, especially ‘I have become all things to all people’ I wondered if that meant I should adopt these Illinois teams in order to do that. Should I become a Bears, Cubs or Cardinals fan for the sake of Jesus?
Now, I’m kidding (mostly) because I don’t believe my team affiliation really affects my ability to love others or share about Jesus, but if it did, my priorities will always be God and people above the Vikings. But even more than that, there are, in fact, key lines that we often draw in our life that do alienate people around us. And we have to be very careful about those lines that we draw, especially for those who call ourselves followers of Jesus. Political lines. Economic lines. State, even country lines. Intelligence lines. When we draw lines and start blaming the ‘other side’ for various problems we are not ‘being all things to all people’. In fact, we are doing just the opposite. So my prayer is that we choose those lines sooo carefully and remember that grace is necessary in all we say and do. God bless.