This is one of those verses that gets thrown out a lot when people are trying to organize something … especially in the church. Because one or two members of a team are highly structured or a little obsessive about their organizational skills, it seems obvious that God must be as well, and look! There’s even a Bible verse to back them up.
The thing is – that’s really not what it is about.
This verse reminds us that God wants peace, not organization. Admittedly, there are people who find peace in extremely structured situations, but more than anything, God wants peace among his people.
When I think of the number of church meetings I've attended that have disintegrated into chaos because there were those who needed to complain or whine about the fact that things weren't going their way, or who came to the meeting intending to make their voices heard about a situation that had gone far beyond their control, I recognize what Paul is saying to the church in Corinth.
This church had chaos happening in their worship services. People were speaking in tongues. For that matter, they were talking over each other in order to make their voices heard. Paul was tired of hearing that there was this much disrespect happening in their church and felt it was necessary to bring them some correction.
God brings peace … not disorder. It’s not necessarily easy, but it is important.
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