Push, Pull or Carry

"All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." 1 Corinthians 6:12 KJV

This is one of my favorite verses. It is so practical. When weighing an action I can almost always add this verse to the equation.

Prohibition provides one kind of motivation. Strong emotion or need provides another. A believer need never have the flesh become active because of restrictions. (The 'do not touch' sign ignites a desire to touch) nor do they have to come under any power but God's power. The question becomes what is expedient?

Expedient is Symphero (G4851) which literally means to bear together. The picture is two people carrying a large sofa up a flight of narrow stairs. Each one carries an end to lighten the load and help turn the sofa just the right way to get it to fit through the doorways.

What decision will set me right alongside the weight bearer? Obedience to God's revealed will put us next to God in the situation. Be careful. Knowing God's revealed will is a prayerful thing... it is a faith venture... it is a Biblical discovery.

God's will starts with being not doing. It involves recognition of the eternal. The next verse provides clarity.

"Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body." 1 Corinthians 6:13 KJV

If the expedient situation or arrangement is what we desire then we need to put things in their place. Destroy here is Katargeo (G2673) and it means to render idle or make inactivate. People and objects are no longer things to be consumed to meet my desires. Grace makes everything 'for the Lord' because God is the one who meets our needs and authored the root of our desires.

Our desires may have been warped and amplified over time but ultimate satisfaction is in the One who designed us. Restriction, domination and wrong thinking are what build false appetites.

Grace causes us to walk with someone mighty, peaceful and meek. In the situation we look for the ways that we can do that. Not because we must or because some power forces us to.

Christ's burden is light because He really carries all the weight when we walk with Him. God will give us eyes to see that path if we ask Him and listen for His leading.