And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. Paul is disappointed. The Corinthians have been believers for a while, and they're still babies. They should be growing. They should be able to handle deeper truth. But they're still contentious, still relying on worldly wisdom, still divided.
I'm a pastor watching my congregation do the same thing. We've had people in our community for years who seem stunted. They can't forgive. They still need constant encouragement. They interpret everything through a victim lens. At some point, I want to say: grow up. But Paul suggests something more tender. These people might need milk for now because they're not ready. The problem isn't just their stubbornness. It might be that they haven't developed the capacity for solid food.
That changes how I respond. Instead of frustrated judgment, I'm trying compassion. Instead of demanding growth, I'm asking: what's preventing growth? Why are these intelligent, capable people still living in the shallow end of the faith? Maybe the answer is that I haven't been feeding them well. Maybe they need milk, and the first task is providing it with excellence, not pushing them toward meat they can't yet digest.
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