“The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?” (1 Corinthians 6:7).
Christians have a set of values different than those of the world. Paul wrote to a church in Corinth that had, to some degree, lost sight of that difference. Among the problems of the church were division, intellectual pride and sexual misconduct. Paul pointed out another issue—legal conflict between believers in which they resorted to the secular courts for solutions.
It’s not that there is never disagreement between believers. That happened then and it still happens now. What makes us different as believers is in our resolution of conflicts. Paul argued against the Corinthian Christians going to court before unbelievers. To the world that is watching us they can’t see the difference between how we handle conflict and how unbelievers handle conflict. Paul’s concern, and ours, is that we want the world to understand that we have a different set of values.
Paul presented a couple of illustrations to show just how seriously he took this matter. “What if I’m right and they’re wrong” and “What if they’re cheating me?” Paul took a radical position. It’s better to be wronged or cheated because the alternative is to be defeated before we begin.
The key to this approach requires faith in God’s oversight of our lives. Instead of losing our testimony before unbelievers we can trust God to protect us by our doing what is right. That seems risky, but is it really? Personally, I would rather have God on my side at the end of the day! He is our Protector and our Provider. Being in His hands is the surest way I can think of to have my best interest protected.
