I'll See You In Court

"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? Instead you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers." 1 Corinthians 6: 7,8 

The marketplace, as we have seen, is a fierce battleground. The enemies of everything Christ stands for are brought to the forefront with power and pressure like legions of armies firing arrows at our shields.  In the mist of all this, we Christians are called out to be different. We are asked to live above the corruption, greed, and the disputes that rage in the marketplace. We are asked to let others see the eternal perspective we have on life in the mist of the trials and temptations that face us. We are asked to let our fellow workers see Jesus. 

Whenever we are dealing with people, disputes will occur. We are wronged, persecuted, slandered, and cheated. In the marketplace, we will find that people and companies don't always honor their contracts and obligations. At times, those who accuse us of wrong will attempt to settle the conflict by taking us to court. At other times, we may be the ones who feel the only way to settle a matter and recover costly damages is to file a law suit against the other party. So, we have to ask, how should we Christians respond under these situations? What do we do if we are being sued? How should we respond when we are wronged? What should our position be concerning lawsuits?

The above scripture presents some interesting thoughts and questions. I guess the  question - are we as Christians just supposed to be doormats - is the most often asked question concerning how we should respond to conflicts. If you read all the verses in the sixth chapter, you get the picture that Paul is talking about how we Christians destroy our testimony to the world by acting just like non-Christians. Verse 6 states:"But instead, one brother goes to law against another brother - and this in front of unbelievers."  

There are many principles that come out of these verses. First, Paul is not stating here a flat out statement against lawsuits. But what he is stating, is that Christians should strive at all cost to settle matters among themselves and not take each other to court since this can have a devastating affect on our representation of Christ in the marketplace. An attorney friend of mine has stated that most lawsuits occur because of two reasons - money and "get ya."  My friend became so convicted of this principle that he established a ministry whereby Christians could settle matters in arbitration rather than lawsuits. He spends much of his time traveling across the country teaching this principle through the ministry of Peace Keepers. 

Should Christians be the doormat? We have to ask ourselves -  what are we trying to hold on to when people come against us? When we have been wronged, what are we after? When we have been cheated, is what we loose more important than representing a positive witness for Christ? What is in our heart toward the other person in either case? These are hard questions. God's word tells us through out the scriptures that it will cost us to follow Christ.  Too many times we live with the knowledge of Christ, but try to live without his principles when we are faced with difficult situations. Only a spirit filled, sensitive heart seeking to serve God, will know when to lay down and when to take up arms.