Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ…for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

 

It’s called reality tv. It’s unscripted, filmed with real people and often reveals that in real life, we don’t get along with each other all that well.

 

Across the globe, we’ve all been captivated by entertainment that promises to show us as we really are—perhaps competing against each other in singing, baking or survival competitions. Some shows simply feature the social lives of people, usually women, living fancy lifestyles. These provide a vivid example of what the Bible calls people who “belong to this world.” Scripture helps us understand what following Jesus should look like by contrasting people who “belong to this world” with what it calls “spiritual people.”

 

What is a spiritual person? Here’s what they aren’t: their lives aren’t marked by out-of-control jealousy and quarreling. In a letter to believers, the Apostle Paul said, “Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ…for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3).

 

Jealousy and quarreling come naturally to us until we allow God’s Spirit to transform us. Jesus said that love for others is the proof that you’re His follower–—someone who keeps saying yes to what God wants (John 13:35). When you follow Jesus, God does the transformative work—Scripture says He is “working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13).