QUALIFYING
FOR FIRST CLASS

Topics: Arrogance; Church; Community; Factions; Grace; Pride; Unity; Weakness

References: Romans 12:16; 15:5–7; 1 Corinthians 1:26–31; 4:6–13; Ephesians 2:8–9

After worrying for half an hour that we wouldn’t get on an overbooked flight, my wife and I were summoned to the check-in desk. A smiling agent whispered that this was our lucky day. He was bumping us up to first class. This was the first and only time we have been pampered on an airplane with good food, hot coffee, and plenty of elbow room.

We played a little game, trying to guess who else didn’t belong in first class. One man padded around the cabin in his socks, restlessly sampling magazines, playing with but never actually using the in-flight phones. Twice he sneezed so loudly we thought the oxygen masks would drop down. When the attendant brought linen tablecloths for our breakfast trays, he tucked his into his collar as a bib.

We see misfits at church too—people who obviously don’t belong, people who embarrass us and cause us to feel superior. The truth is that we don’t belong there any more than they do.

—Ken Langley, Zion, Illinois