By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  May 27, 2020

Read 1 Corinthians 6:1-6.

It is always better to lose the battle if it means winning the war. The Corinthian Christians were squabbling and bickering with one another, taking each other to secular courts to fight their petty battles. But Paul reminded them that their fighting was costly for both sides. Whether a person won or lost, both sides were already completely defeated.

Jesus said if your brother wants to take your shirt, you should give him your cloak also (see Matthew 5:40). While this can be a demonstration of loving sacrifice, ultimately it proclaims a deep faith: You are trusting that God will provide for you. When fellow believers duke it out for all the world to see, they are telling the world that their trust isn’t really in the Lord, but in the world’s justice system, their arguments, and their own willingness to fight for what they believe they deserve. They lose before their case is ever heard. They have already suffered spiritual defeat because, in their stubborn pride, they have discredited the power, wisdom, and work of God.

All too often we live out of the past instead of from the future. But the world is looking at us to see where our hope lies. Don’t sacrifice your witness! It is far better to lose a battle here on earth if it means winning spiritually for all eternity by humbly trusting the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, help me to value humility, peace, and godliness above my own desires. I pray that as people look on my life, they will see a life lived for You—they will see me trust You to provide all I truly long for—so that they might be won to Your Kingdom by my witness to Your immeasurable worth. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“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).