Warning, Too Much Knowledge Can Go To Your Head, 1 Corinthians 8:1-6

I remember going through drivers ed. as I approached my sixteenth birthday. Back in the day, you couldn’t do your in-car training until you were actually sixteen, but you could take the classes. I can still see the room we sat in. We learned about the car and some basics on driving, but more than anything I remember the graphic videos we watched.

I think they showed us those videos as a way of saying, “Before we give you knowledge in the car we are going to show you what damage that knowledge can cause if not used properly.” The videos were meant to shock and scare us into using caution while we were behind the wheel.

Our scripture passage today is doing the same thing. Paul says, “Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” At first glance it seems as if Paul has gotten off topic when actually he is giving the reader a warning. Before he starts talking about the new freedom believers have concerning food sacrificed to idols, he is warning them to put love before knowledge.

Tomorrow’s devotion is going to talk about what that freedom is; today I want to focus on the warning. As Christians we have a lot of knowledge; knowledge of God, of forgiveness, of heaven but if we use that knowledge and only think of ourselves we have missed the point.

Just like if, as a teenager, I would have gotten my driver’s license and forgotten about all the other drivers on the road. We as Christians do a lot of damage when we receive Christ and then just go about our day.

Read today's passage at Biblegateway 1 Corinthians 8:1-6