Get Off The Ladder - The Antidote

1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV 

[4] Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.13.4.NIV)

Mountains often have some quite incredible views. The vistas from the top of any of the Alpine ranges in Europe can be so jaw-dropping they are almost other-worldly. The best we have seen are from Zugspitze in Baravia, Germany, which provides you with a view across mountains ranges from five different countries, or from the summit of Männlichen in Switzerland onto the Lauterbrunnen valley. These are quite simply astonishing views. 

But we have also had the disappointing experience of reaching very top of a stunning mountain and then not being able to see a thing due to low cloud and fog. We had that experience at the top of Grouse Mountain, north of Vancouver, Canada, of all places. Don’t get me wrong, it was quite ethereal to walk around a mountain in fog so thick at times that you could barely see your hand in your face. But to go all that way and see nothing of the view of the valley below and down to the Burrard Inlet and Vancouver Bay was a bit of a let-down. 

Especially as Canada is definitely not a cheap country to visit. 

Imagine the horror of spending your whole life fighting off other people, grasping and snatching to get ahead, kicking out at everyone behind you, struggling for significance and greatness, and then realising on your deathbed that it wasn’t worth it. Imagine that profound sense of sadness and loss. Imagine the trail of brokenness and harm and pain that you would leave behind. 

Friends, I need to be very real with you here: this is the legacy of everyone – absolutely everyone - who lives their lives by the worldly ideals of the ladder of souls. 

As one (non-Christian) rock band sung in the 1990s: 

‘Wannabees and losers all trying to get a break 

They don’t give a [censored], they’ll do whatever it takes 

If they climb the ladder, they get to play for higher stakes 

There is low life in high places' 

Before we go any further, we must confront the reality that the materialist ‘American’ dream of riches at all costs is morally, spiritually and even financially bankrupt. 

It does not work. 

That vision of life has failed. It was always going to fail. It was doomed to failure. 

Because it was driven by greed, envy and covetousness. 

This last study of my fascinating and challenging series offers a viable alternative way of life. 

Let’s start, then, by looking at the reasons for its demise by examining a church that absolutely was Standing on the Ladder. 

Standing on the Ladder 

1 Corinthians 1:10-13 NIV 

[10] I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. [11] My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. [12] What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” [13] Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.1.10-13.NIV)

1 Corinthians 3:1-7 NIV 

[1] Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. [2] I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. [3] You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? [4] For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? [5] What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. [6] I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. [7] So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.3.1-7.NIV)

Scotland is famous for a lot of things, but perhaps one thing it is less known for overseas is its tribalism. Scotland is a small country: just a little over five million people live here. Its main urban centres are all less than four hours apart. 

Yet the pride in the identity of coming from one city or another is very strong. It’s one of the reasons why our football supporters in particular are very passionate.

Tribalism in sport is one thing. But when it comes into the church and develops into what one translation called a ‘party spirit’, that is when it goes very wrong. 

On the European and American political scenes over the past twenty years or so we have seen the rise of populist political movements. How they operate is very dangerous. Their leaders, who are usually deep down politically agnostic (they don’t really believe in anything) do their best to attract a hard core of committed, some might say radicalised, followers by speaking to causes that make them angry or afraid. These followers then spread their anger or fear and try to expand their party’s support in the same manner. Often these movements are led by strong and controversial leaders who deliberately prey on those who are left behind or feel abandoned by conventional politicians. 

Regardless of their political persuasion, be it left, right, or centrist, these politicians are dangerous because they damage societal cohesion and seek to divide communities to expand their own power base. 

Division, you see, is often masked in ideals and suchlike, but it is always intended to gain power for those who lead such movements regardless of the cost for society at large.

Division is simply a price to pay to get power. 

That is why these people are dangerous. 

And that is what was happening in Corinth, and why Paul was so keen to quash it.

The view of the Corinthian church was that the apostles were clearly superior to them. And so, like comic book fan boys or fan girls, they made heroes out of the apostles and started to set them off against each other. 

This is utter foolishness, for two reasons. Firstly, because it elevated the apostles to a position they should not occupy. As Jesus told His followers: 

Matthew 23:8-12 NIV 

[8]  “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. [9] And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. [10] Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. [11] The greatest among you will be your servant. [12] For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.23.8-12.NIV)

So the very idea that anyone could exalt themselves over anyone else is absurd. 

But I'm not sure that the church ever caught on to this. 

Secondly, because it sought to divide both the church and the apostles into factions. 

This is more than absurd – it’s dangerous. As Jesus Himself said: 

Luke 11:17 NIV 

[17] Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/luk.11.17.NIV)

Division guarantees demise. That is a fact.

Manipulating and separating people into little groups guarantees the destruction of the whole community. Paul had to take a stand against this – and a firm stance at that – because of the existential risk that this division posed to the whole church. 

And let’s not be mistaken: this clearly gifted church was rife with division. They were even taking each other to the secular courts for a decision (1 Corinthians 6:1-11). Even worse, their communion ‘Love Feasts’ had degenerated from a symbol of community and fellowship to a display of indulgence and hedonism (1 Corinthians 11:17-34). 

They were absolutely standing on the ladder of souls. They looked up at the apostles. They looked down at those poorer than them. They fought among themselves for supremacy.

This is a tragic place for any human being to be, let alone a church. 

But, and we have to be honest about this, the church has often found itself here, scrapping over theological minutiae like ferrets in a bag, while the world looks on, mystified, and wonders about what difference the Gospel actually makes to our lives if this is how we behave with each other. 

And the worst of all at this, which we have to admit with sorrow, have been the Protestant and Reformed churches. Yes, Catholic and Orthodox churches have their saints whom they elevated far higher than even the saints themselves would have wanted, if they were really saints at all. But we as Protestant churches have our pet theologians and theologies that we cling to as if these were the Gospel and woe betide anyone who disagrees with us, even if the disagreement is so minor that the difference can’t be seen with a microscope. 

This is pathetic. Utterly pathetic. It’s childish. It’s immature. It’s petty. It’s just plain wrong. 

In fact, it’s a classic case of Phariseeical gnat-straining and camel-swallowing (Matthew 23:24). We are called to love, not to construct theological systems like castle walls to keep undesirables out.  

Get off the ladder. Stop spiritualising damaging division. Stop comparing other people with you and you with other people. We are all saved by grace, not by our pet theologies. 

We are all no better than each other. The ladder of souls is no place for a Christian. 

So after seeing that the Corinthian church saw themselves as being on the ladder of souls, we next see Paul telling them how to Get Off The Ladder. 

Getting Off the Ladder 

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 NIV 

[4] Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. [5] It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.13.4-5.NIV)

Have you ever seen songs used for the wrong purpose? I always smile when I see the Bruce Springsteen classic ‘Born in the USA’ used in patriotic rally out west. He wrote it as a protest song against the Vietnam war!  

I also found it hilarious when The Clash's ‘London Calling’ was played during the opening ceremony for the London Olympics. It’s a dystopian, apocalyptic song about environmental and societal collapse! Just what you need to play when the world is descending on your capital city... 

The passage we are examining has been widely misquoted and slightly misunderstood. 

It’s often quoted at romantic moments like weddings. I can see it’s appeal. It is a really beautiful passage. But the Greek word used for ‘love’ here doesn’t mean romantic love, or sexual love, or even erotic love. 

No, the word used here is ‘agape’. This is tough, resistant love for those who are unloved and unlovely. This is the love of the cross not a date or a meet-cute. This is a rugged and determined love that seeks the best for its object no matter the cost. 

More to the point – and it is a very important point – Paul has not set this jewel of a verse in a romantic setting. It’s in this letter, written to a church that is making a huge mess of being a church. 1 Corinthians 13 comes between 1 Corinthians 12 and 1 Corinthians 14. That might seem like I’m stating the obvious, but if you read these chapters, you will see why it’s important. 

1 Corinthians 12 is all about how God’s people are not a disembodied bunch of lone wolves but a body – the Body of Christ. They should therefore use their gifts and abilities for the common good. 

It is about putting the people in order. 

1 Corinthians 14 is all about having church meetings that are not chaotic, but well-organised and accessible for the uninitiated. 

It’s about putting the church services in order. 

Not the kind of sweet nothings you would whisper into the ear of your intended. 

Yet sandwiched between them, we find 1 Corinthians 13: a short but powerful passage on love. 

Why? 

The answer is really simple but deeply profound: 

Love is the answer to their problems. 

Why? 

Because love – real love – has no regard for climbing on the ladder of souls. Love does not grasp at those above it nor kick out at those beneath it. 

Look at what Paul said about love: 

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 NIV 

[4] Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. [5] It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.13.4-5.NIV)

Love is patient and kind with those it could believe are beneath it. It does not envy those who appear to be above it. It does not boast to seem like it is a rung above. It is not proud of where it has reached. 

It does not pull others down to clamber above them. It does not even seek to climb the ladder at all. It doesn’t get angry or bear grudges to make others seem lower. 

This is echoed by other Scriptures: 

Colossians 3:12-14 NIV 

[12] Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. [13] Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. [14] And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/col.3.12-14.NIV)

1 Peter 4:8 NIV 

[8] Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.4.8.NIV)

Romans 13:8-10 NIV 

[8] Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. [9] The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [10] Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.13.8-10.NIV)

Love is utterly incompatible with social climbing and getting ahead by leaving others behind. Love does not thwart ambition, love fosters it and encourages it, but not at the cost of sacrificing itself for it. 

Love is the very essence of being a Christian, because we are at our most Christ-like when we love: 

John 13:34-35 NIV 

[34]  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. [35] By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.34-35.NIV)

1 John 4:7-12 NIV 

[7] Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. [8] Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. [9] This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. [10] This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. [11] Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. [12] No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1jn.4.7-12.NIV)

Paul presented love as the antidote to all the venomous behaviours and attitudes that were rife in the Corinthian church. And he was right. Dead right. 

As Christians, we are commanded to love God and love our neighbours as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). It’s not an optional extra or a bonus for the particularly spiritual, it is a command for every Christian. Clambering up the ladder of souls while kicking out at those beneath us is one hundred percent an act of disobedience along all three love latitudes. It breaks both laws. This is what James said about breaking a single command: 

James 2:10 NIV 

[10] For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.2.10.NIV)

But if we reject love and climb that ladder, we are not only guilty of breaking one law or two laws, but the very essence of the law. We are guilty of breaking the very foundations on which the law is based. We are also guilty of sinning against God, our neighbour and ourselves.  

The old adage of ‘sin at haste, repent at leisure’ cannot apply here – in fact, it can’t apply anywhere, but especially not here. The more we scrap and battle and fight to get ahead, the more damage we leave behind us and cause around us. We can’t decide to repent once we’ve reached a certain position in life. That will never do. 

No, if you do not want to waste your life chasing an empty dream, get off the ladder now, before you cause any more pain. 

Because, you see, while love is also a good reason to get off the ladder if you are standing on it, it’s also Better Than The Ladder. 

Better Than The Ladder 

1 Corinthians 12:31 NIV 

[31] And yet I will show you the most excellent way. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.12.31.NIV)

On 29^th May 1953, Edmund Hillary became the first human being to ascend to the top of Mount Everest in Nepal, the world’s highest mountain. It was one of the single greatest achievements any human being has ever attained. Even now, long after his death, his face is still on the $5 note in his home nation of New Zealand. 

But he didn’t do it alone. 

Those who make any attempt to climb Everest are usually accompanied by Nepali sherpa guides, as was the case with Hillary – he climbed the mountain with Tenzing Norgay. 

No human ever achieves anything of any great significance entirely on their own. Even the greatest adventures on the most foolhardy expeditions usually have a team behind them. Solo sports people like golfers, tennis players, boxers and darts players all have a team around them. 

Which makes ascending the ladder of souls to somehow feel significant seem absolutely absurd. 

That apart from the reality that, as far as God is concerned, it’s meaningless and doesn’t exist. 

Love, however, is superior in every way. Love, as Paul told us, has astonishingly positive effects on our relationships with others, as we saw earlier: 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV 

[4] Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. [5] It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. [6] Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. [7] It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.13.4-7.NIV)

In fact, Paul makes the point in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 that everything we think makes us stand out as a uniquely blessed Christian is utterly meaningless and useless without love. 

Which is why Paul talks of it as the ‘most excellent way’ – superior by any possible measure. 

Because you may ascend higher than anyone else up that ladder of souls. You may achieve more than anyone else has ever done. Your name may go down in history as a genius and a wonder. But if you live only to climb that ladder, your whole life will be an empty and meaningless waste of time and energy. 

Why? 

Because the higher you climb, he more there is to climb, and the more people you tread on to get there, the more lonely you become, until you will get as high as you can and find that there is nothing there. And all you will be able to see below is the heartless damage you will have caused to get there. 

Love is superior to that in every way. Love is ambitious, but seeks to achieve greatness with people, not against them. 

Love is a team-worker, not a lone wolf. Love seeks the good of all: 

Romans 12:17-18 NIV 

[17] Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. [18] If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.12.17-18.NIV)

Philippians 2:3-4 NIV 

[3] Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, [4] not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/php.2.3-4.NIV)

There is something deeply satisfying about achieving something with and through and in others rather than climbing upwards alone.  

Frank Sinatra may have famously sung about doing it his way, but he was a man who left behind a string of broken marriages and relationships, was a proven womaniser and allegedly also had contact with the mafia. I don’t think I’d like to live his way. 

But if you live life God’s way, you will not just live it to please yourself. Your main aim will be to please God and to love like Jesus loved you. That ladder of souls will be a place you will flee from. People will know you by your love towards them and how you do not take advantage of them. They will see something truly different in you. 

And they will be drawn to it. 

Because that is the power of true love. 

Conclusion 

Exodus 20:17 NIV 

[17] “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/exexo.20.17V)

1 Corinthians 13:4-5, 13 NIV 

[4] Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. [5] It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  

[13] And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.13.4-13.NIV)

I have to be honest with you: this has not been an easy series to write. 

It must have been a little confusing to see a fairly technical study on a fairly obscure sin land on your social media feed on New Year’s Day. I can’t remember the last sermon I heard on covetousness. It’s not a sin we speak of often, unless we are doing a series on the Ten Commandments. 

Yet this sin is everywhere. It is all around us. It drives whole economies, both legal and illegal. It leads millions of people into debt, disease and addiction. It is a gateway sin into other sins that rot and destroy. 

Yet if we are to win the battle against its many offshoots, we must win the battle against covetousness. 

Seeing it in all its disgraceful ugliness has not even at all fun. It’s been even less fun seeing some major Bible characters, some of whom we admire and think are better than us, fall catastrophically to this deadly sin and cause incredible damage to their families and nations.

Sometimes it’s been like seeing a tumour on a scan or under a microscope. It’s chilling that something so utterly deadly and dangerous could live inside us. 

But if we find it, we must get rid of it. We must replace it with something better. 

And that something better is love. 

It’s love for our God first and foremost, for our neighbour and, yes, ourselves. It’s this love that sets our priorities straight and wards off sin. 

And so, friend, I want you to do something right now that will change your life. I want you to recognise that covetousness is hatred. It is disobedience. It is ingratitude. 

Is the opposite of love for God, your neighbour and your friend. 

I want you to draw a vertical line in your head. On one side is the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 

These things are expressions of love for God, others and ourselves.  

I want you to realise something. Covetousness is not there. And neither are the sins it produces: theft, lust, sexual impropriety, greed, gossip, slander, factions and the like. These are all the works of the flesh. They are not expressions of love. They are instead expressions of hatred. 

I want you to file them on the opposite side of the line. I want you to realise that these things are dangerous. They are harmful. They are destructive. They will destroy you and hurt the people around you. 

I want you to understand that you, as a child of the King of Kings, have no business doing any of those things. 

That includes covetousness. 

If you have found this series deeply uncomfortable at times, welcome to the club. Every human being has coveted something at some time. It’s far from new. If you have found yourselves on the ladder of souls and did things there of which you would rather not speak and are deeply ashamed, we all know how that feels. 

But let’s make today the day when everything changes, we get off the ladder and live lives of love instead. 

Because that is the much better way. 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, I am done trying to climb the ladder-to-nowhere. I am done having myself as my idol. I will worship only You. Help me to live a true life of love. Amen. 

Questions 

• What is so wrong about trying to live my life on the ladder of souls, constantly comparing myself to other people? 

• What is so different about loving a life of love? 

• How will you change your life today?