August 8: Of Paul, his frustration, sarcasm and example

"Already you have all you want!  Already you have become rich!  You have become kings - and that without us!  How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings like you!"

- 1 Cor 4:8

I find Paul to be such an inspiration.  Not only might he be considered one of the greatest of sinners - he not only sanctioned the murder of Stephen, he was going with full purpose to do the same to the Christians in Damascus.  I identify with such sinfulness, and am encouraged by the fact God not only forgave him, God found tremendous use for him in His kingdom.  

The other thing I liked about Paul was his evident humanity - see, Paul was not above sarcasm or frustration. In Galatians 5:12, when railing against those who insisted that a number of ceremonial practices, circumcision among them, were still binding on the church, it seems he goes so far as to say he wished they would go all the way and cut their own genitals off.  And in the verse above, taken from today's NT reading, Paul's emotion is on full display once again, with a people who had received the Word and yet, perhaps because of the prosperity they enjoyed, had permitted immorality and spiritual laxness to remain, even to flourish.  

I am no better than Paul.  Whether in situations where I am heavily invested (as a father, for example), or situations where I have far less standing (say, for example, in the pathetic verbiage that passes for political discourse this year), I find myself frustrated, even angry at the utter disregard for truth and fact.  And my tongue has, shamefully, been quick and harsh on many occasion.  Sadly, this has been particularly true when the stakes have been highest, when raising my children.  

"I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children."

"Therefor I urge you to imitate me.  For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord.

1 Cor 14,16-17

The thing Paul does well (and I could do so much better) is to bring it back, from frustration to love, and from words to examples.  I need to remember the love that is the reason for the concern and the frustration, and I need to remember that my children will learn far better seeing my example (and the example of others) than they will by hearing my (harsh) words.  And I would do well to remember that I have been cause for frustration on our Father's part, and that "His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime".

Father, help us to learn from the example of Paul's zeal for Your Word, to take encouragement from the humanity of his frustration, and to remember the root of our frustration and anger when dealing with our children is our love for them.  Teach us to be the examples to them Paul hoped to be to the Corinthians.