top of page
BRAVER THAN LIONS
Sam Stringer
Oct 25, 2024
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave
to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants
is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
1 Corinthians 3:5-7
Winning is great, isn’t it? If you’ve ever been a part of a sports team, there’s few things that make you
happier than winning. I mean, winning is the point, isn’t it? Let me tell you something: I was a terrible
basketball player, but in third grade, I played on a team that never won. We’d show up and we must have
been the joke of every gymnasium because here come the El Vista …(I don’t even think we had a name).
Let’s just say “bad boys” and when I say bad, I don’t mean good. Winning, but losing, too, can get to our
heads if we’re not careful. We can easily take a win or a loss and inform ourselves of our inherent worth,
our validity to society, our potential, and yet fail miserably because we have exploded the concept of a
simple win. Yes, winning comes through hard work and dedication most of the time, but it serves to teach
us lessons just as much as losing. Winning and losing both come with their own sets of temptations.
Paul was a masterful teacher of the Bible, raised in the Old Testament Scriptures, a Pharisee of
Pharisees, a keeper of the law; he was a winner when it came to being religious. Not to mention all of his
past, but he got saved by Jesus on the road to Damascus. All of his old knowledge now had a spiritual
connection as he wasn’t just religious; he was a believer. He had apostolic authority and he went through
unimaginable conflicts all while touting the Gospel message and teaching people in the truth.
How easy would it have been for Paul to look in the mirror of his life and say, “Wow, you really are
something. Look at how far you’ve come. Look at how far everybody else has to go. You really are above
all these people.” Paul did not do this, though. He was well acquainted with his sinfulness, calling himself
the chief of sinners; this statement speaks to his extreme familiarity with his own sin, and yet his growing
familiarity with the holiness of God. People, like some Corinthians, put him on a shiny golden pedestal,
claiming themselves as followers of him, like a badge of honor. Many still do this today, making
themselves disciples of this speaker or that one, and while we may appreciate folks, we ought not put
them on the same level as Jesus in our hearts.
Paul, as some others did in the Scripture, discouraged this kind of arrogance as the nonsense that it was
in saying, “Who then is Paul…but a minister through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I
planted…but God gave the increase.” Just a servant. A servant of the King of Kings, but a servant
nonetheless. The only greatness that came from this was being a broken vessel made useful to the Lord.
He looked to Jesus; he didn’t waste his time looking at his trophy collection or comparing scars or any of
that. He found his value in Christ alone. Bravery was bred by seeing everything that happened as coming
from the judicious hand of God in his life, nothing being of his own merit. Paul’s confidence came from
Christ, not himself; Paul’s confidence came from Christ, not comparison to others. He didn’t need to win
to be enough and “losing” didn’t make him any less confident in his standing with God.
How about you? What are you using to boost your estimation of yourself aside from the solid word of
God? What are you given to in propping up yourself, or what are you listening to that is tearing you down
from who God has made you to be? God loves you. Be braver than lions as you make much of Him and
less of yourself.
Sam Stringer
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
bottom of page