As He Pleases

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

AS HE PLEASES

1 Cor 7:17-24

17 Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts. 20 Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. 21 Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you — although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.

NIV

Just because we get saved doesn’t mean we have to change every aspect of our lives, although in some cases it would be good to remove ourselves from the circumstances of some living conditions. Such as in the case if we were living in a drug infested culture it might be a good idea to leave that social setting and move into a more desirable locations suited living drug free. But this point here is that no matter our position in life, we can still serve the Lord with our whole heart. When we get saved if we are an highly educated professional making obscene amounts of money that is fine and we should continue to live in the manner we live, but serve the Lord with all that we are. If we get saved and are homeless it does not mean we are any less than those who are of great wealth, but it does mean we can even remain homeless and serve the Lord with all our heart. Certainly we can understand that whatever our position in life is there are others within the same position. If would be extremely difficult for person with a high degree of education and a person with very little education to relate to each other. It would be difficult for a person with abundant means and a person barely making ends meet to relate to each other.  We enter the Kingdom of God from all walks of life and we are seeing here we should simply continue to live in the Kingdom of God in whatever walk of life we are in. God may well need, in fact He does need us to live and serve Him where He has called us. Does He bring about a change in life circumstances for some of His servants? Indeed He does, but it is not for the purpose of simply bringing them from one place in life to another for their own pleasures, but so they might serve as a blessing to those around them in their new environment. We see here it is all about being responsible to God. Whatever He decides is the best place for us to be, is the best place for us to be. What matters if other people are in different places in life, is that not entirely up to God? It is just like when Peter asked Jesus about John, and Jesus said If I want him to live forever, what is that to you, you must follow me. We need to just follow God no matter where we are in life and not worry or concern ourselves with where other people are in life. God is God, we are His creation, He has saved us, and we are His to do with as He pleases.