Difference? What Difference?

Speaker: Ed McBride

Date: September 14, 2025

When I made my trip-of-a-lifetime to Ireland and Scotland in late March and early April, one of the differences that struck me as not in keeping with our sense of modesty or decorum or propriety was their signs that invariably told us the direction to the toilets. Not rest rooms like our signs do, but toilets.

Now, the first time I saw that sign it kind of hit me that they seem to be not quite as “refined” as we are. I mean, our signs almost always say Rest Rooms with an arrow if they’re not close by, like in a Walmart or Home Depot. And almost always, right above the entrance to those little rooms. Rest rooms.

But not in those countries! They say it like it is. And when you think about it, that makes a lot more sense. After all, who goes into those rooms to rest? Resting is not part of the plan; it’s not the purpose of going through that door. In fact, not only do we not plan to rest in there, but we want to get in and out as quickly as possible, especially if it’s in a convenience store or gas station.

I did a little online research, and it seems that the term came into common usage right at the turn of the 20th century. It probably derived from a puritanical or Victorian focus on proper etiquette or prudence or civility or propriety.

At any rate, the Scots and the Gaels aren’t so squeamish it seems. And so, wherever there is a sign directing you to their “rest rooms” they are right out there with the word that cannot be confused with any other meaning.

I’m not a world traveler by any means. I can easily list the countries I’ve been in: India, Guatemala, Mexico, Canada, Scotland, England and Ireland. But I am well aware that we do indeed have many differences with the lifestyles and values and visions of people in those nations.

I was also intrigued by other little variations, like GIVE WAY on what we call YIELD signs, and the big one: driving on the wrong side of the road! Around this wonderful globe are some 7 billion people with differences in their mode of living not only from country to country, but from region to region. Not many of us here in the Northwest eat grits for breakfast. Or for any other meal for that matter. But the folks in the south do!

And then there’s haggis, “the national dish of Scotland, a type of pudding composed of the liver, heart, and lungs of a sheep (or other animal), minced and mixed with beef or mutton suet and oatmeal and seasoned with onion, cayenne pepper, and other spices. The mixture is packed into a sheep’s stomach and boiled.” Sounds awful (or offal if you prefer) but was actually very good.

Yeah, there are lots of differences in us humans, and when it comes down to it, we have individual differences. No two of us are alike. I’m not telling you anything profound of course because we’re all aware of those differences. We are each unique. No two of us are alike, not even identical twins.

But we do have one thing in common: we are made in the image of God. Genesis 1:26 establishes that:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

Now, keep in mind that that’s all of us. It’s not just those of us who have a personal relationship with Christ. Every human being is made in the image of God. Does that mean we actually look like him physically, that God does in fact exist in a body like ours? My simple answer is no. God is spirit, and mentally, humanity was created as a rational, volitional agent. In other words, human beings can reason and choose. This is a reflection of God’s intellect and freedom. Morally, humanity was created in righteousness and perfect innocence, a reflection of God’s holiness. Socially, humanity was created for fellowship. This reflects God’s triune nature and His love.

And that leads me to today’s selected verses, 1 Cor 4:7-8:

For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you!

I need to put this in perspective. The city of Corinth was—and is—down in the southern tip of Greece, the isthmus that extends into the Mediterranean Sea. Paul, in his third missionary journey, had established the church there, and, according to Acts 18:11, stayed for a year and a half, preaching and leading and growing the church. He ultimately moved on and wound up in Ephesus, a port city on the western side of today’s Turkey, where he was when writing to the Corinthian church.

While there he was getting reports about a lot of strife and discontent and disagreements among the members of the Corinthian church. He was responding to these reports by affirming the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and the need to focus on their community as believers and not on their differences. Among those difference was a reference Paul made earlier that some of the members were followers of Paul, some of Apollos, and some of Jesus. Paul was writing to affirm that Jesus is the one to follow.

I want to read to you the way The Message recites today’s verses:

For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle. Without bringing either Apollos or me into it, you’re sitting on top of the world—at least God’s world—and we’re right there, sitting alongside you!

Now, I am not suggesting that we here in our church have strife and disagreement over Spiritual truths. But when I was reading today’s passage the other day, that question, “For who makes you different from anyone else?” just popped off the page at me.

What makes me different from anyone else?

The NIV Application Bible, in a side-note, says this: “Paul’s writing in this verse drips with irony and sarcasm.” He is asking this question in the midst of trying to understand why the Corinthian parishioners can’t get along. But it said something different to me: What makes me different from anyone else? What makes us different from anyone else?

In keeping with Steve’s theme of his current series of messages of equipping, this seems like an essential, rock-bottom question. Again looking at the NIV Application Bible notes, there is this comment:

“Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians give practical advice to the church today. (1) The most important quality for a church is unity among its members. Squabbles and infighting are signs of spiritual immaturity. (2) Unity can never be achieved without a love that seeks the good of others. (3) No Christians ought to think that they are better than others. Boasting about what one has received from God destroys rather than builds up the church. (4) God is not pleased with a haphazard manner of doing things in the church; there should be order in the way the church operates. (5) The church ought to be concerned about its reputation in society; in its witness it must bring glory to Christ, the head of the church.

Taking those points one at a time, I think we can readily accept #(1), “The most important quality for a church is unity among its members.” I’m not aware of any essential variances in our collective understanding—and acceptance—of the Lordship of Jesus, our salvation through his sacrifice, the grace of God to forgive us, our need to seek forgiveness and to repent of our sins, and the reconciliation of mankind to him through Jesus Christ. We may vary some in the application, in the depth of our faith, the extent that we give ourselves over to Christ, or the way that we respond to his calling, but we don’t disagree on the basics.

#(2), “Unity can never be achieved without a love that seeks the good of others,” is a bit more challenging, isn’t it? “A love that seeks the good of others” means putting others ahead of ourselves. That’s not always easy, is it? Max Lucado asks this question:

“When you love the unloving, you get a glimpse of what God does for you. When you love liars, cheaters, and heartbreakers, are you not doing what God has done for us?”

Now let that settle in for a moment. When we love the unloving, we get a glimpse of what God does for us. If we’re honest with ourselves, we have to admit we screw up, some days more so than others. And here I’m not talking about those little irritations that affect us all when we make a mistake. I’m not talking about our blurting out something hurtful to another person. I’m not talking about the resentment we may feel when someone offends us. I’m talking about how we respond to such incidents. Do we respond as Jesus would have us do, or as we would have us do?

According to more than one source I came across, the key verse in all of 1 Corinthians is 13:13: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

We mess up all the time, at least according to the standards God has set for us. And yet he loves us anyway! Note the second part of that question posed by Lucado: “When you love liars, cheaters, and heartbreakers, are you not doing what God has done for us?” It ain’t easy to love cheaters, liars and heartbreakers, is it? Love is paramount. “Unity can never be achieved without a love that seeks the good of others.” Note the phrase “seeks the good of others.” We don’t love those scofflaws because of what they did, we love them in spite of what they did. I think it’s fair to say that when we recite every Sunday, “Our faith is in loving others as we love ourselves, and loving God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength” can be a real challenge sometimes. The loving God part with all we have maybe not so much, but loving others as we love ourselves, oh, yeah!

#(3) in that list above: “No Christians ought to think that they are better than others,” seems simple and straightforward enough, doesn’t it? But do we fall into that trap on occasion? That’s really gliding into the realm of judgment, isn’t it? When you pause to think about it, we have our hands full just keeping our own relationship with God intact; who has time or energy to try to ascertain the depth of faith of others? That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t always be ready to share the Good News whenever and wherever the opportunity arises, but I think the key word there is “share.” And the best way I know to do that is to let someone else know how my faith in God has made my life better. I don’t do a good job of it but I know it’s the best way.

(4) “God is not pleased with a haphazard manner of doing things in the church; there should be order in the way the church operates.” Some folks might suggest that that’s what we’re seeing in too many up and coming churches and denominations today: too much emphasis on “feel good,” and special effects, and incorporating contemporary secular values in order to attract younger people. They may be right: it’s okay, I think, if our worship services today differ from those of, say, 30, 40 or 50 years ago.

I can easily remember when virtually all men attending this church wore a coat and tie to church, if not a suit then at least a sport coat. And of course the preachers were always robed. I don’t really know when that went out of fashion, or when we drifted into being more casual, but I guess it’s like so many changes that take place in life—it just sort of evolved.

And of course, the ladies were always in dresses, most in hats. I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that we have ladies right here in these times in this church who continue that tradition, and I say, God bless ‘em. Connie used to say that she had an aunt whose common expression was, “I’m going to meet the king today, and I must dress accordingly.”

This isn’t to say that the way we dress today—much more casually—somehow lessens our attitude of worship, because I firmly believe that it doesn’t. If we come with open hearts and searching minds, and are ready to receive the love and discipline of God in the service, and if we truly feel love for each and every person we meet here, then we come with the right attitude.

That #(4) ends with, “there should be order in the way the church operates.” We meet that criteria, I believe. We have officers elected to both business and Spiritual roles, and the opportunity for individual members to always share their thoughts and ideas. It was a bumpy ride at times breaking the ties with the United Methodist Church, but I for one—and I think many here agree—feel we are stronger now than ever.

And finally, #(5): “The church ought to be concerned about its reputation in society; in its witness it must bring glory to Christ, the head of the church.” Frankly, that may be our biggest challenge. We all get compliments now and then. Even I get one once in a while. And what do I do? I have learned to quietly say “thank you” and leave it at that.

All too often there is a tendency to try to “humble down” the compliment by saying something like, “Oh, it’s a really simple recipe, not hard at all,” or, “Well, if you look closely you’ll see that I made some mistakes when putting this together,” or, “Oh, I should have mentioned this one other thing when I gave my presentation,” or, “It was really nothing, I was happy to drive her to Spokane to the doctor.” Or whatever. I call that “humbling down.” And I’m not criticizing that. I’m not saying those responses aren’t sincere. But as humans we try to respond to someone’s kind words by “humbling down,” making it seem like it was nothing.

In one sense, I think such a  “humbling down” response can even demean the intent of the complimenter. They’re saying in all sincerity, “That was a good thing you did,” and our response is, “Oh, no it wasn’t.” “And here’s why.”

And so, to the best of my ability, I try to say, “thank you” now, rather than come up with explanation why it wasn’t that great.

But guess what? That’s not the right response either! Why not, when replying, give God the glory? Let the person know you were doing whatever you just did to honor God’s place in your life, and if it was good enough to garner an accolade, pass the accolade on to the one who really deserves it.

We have to keep in mind that we represent this church—the Colfax Community Church—when we’re out and about. We help foster its reputation in society; our witness, individually and corporately, must bring glory to Christ. I have no doubt that our church took a few hits from outsiders when our plans to separate from the Methodist Church began to get known. We should not presume that it was a totally internal thing, isolated from the prying eyes of the general public. And no doubt there were some cynics who may have thought, or said that it’s just another example of a single church splintering off from the main body, which seems to be something Christian churches are constantly doing. “Can’t they ever get their act together? Do Christian churches always have to be in turmoil? They preach love and peace and tranquility, but they sure don’t practice it when they seem to bicker all the time.”

Well, that’s behind us now, and hopefully is fading in the memories of onlookers. The best thing we can do now—the greatest thing we can do—is to witness to the glory of Christ. Frankly, I don’t think our disaffiliation caused all that much of a ripple in our secular society, but it was and is a known fact. To those who might criticize us for this action we can in all honesty say it was indeed our way of witnessing to the glory of Christ. We could no longer align our beliefs with those of the main body, and to have continued in that mode would have greatly debased the very goal we are aiming for: witnessing to the glory of Christ.

Remember: every time we interact with another person not in our church family we are representing our church. I’m making a pledge to myself to do a better job of that agency, to be a spokesman for a God-fearing, God-led, God-imbued congregation of worshippers. You are welcome to join me.

I have a desk-top figurine at home—I did have it here in the office when I was pastoring—that has the inscription:

A bell isn’t a bell until you ring it;

A song isn’t a song until you sing it.

The love that is in you wasn’t meant there to stay;

Love isn’t love until you give it away.

Let’s pray:

Loving God, may we always be aware of your constant presence with us, not just in worship, not just in prayer, not just when reading your Word, but all the time. We pray that that very presence will motivate us to put ourselves aside and let you be our guide and leader. We know that we need you all the time, Lord. Help us to be spokesmen for you in whatever circumstance we find ourselves. Through your Holy Spirit equip us to always be top-rate ambassadors for you and for the church. In Jesus’ name, Amen.