Reading Paul through the Eyes of Disability

THEME: PROMOTING UNITY
The first 13 verses of 1 Corinthians 10 deal with what Prior (1985) called the danger of presumption, specifically the assumption that we have moved beyond certain temptations as Christians. Verse 12, “let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall,” is both a chastisement of and a stern warning to those in the church who think they are flourishing in their Christian life solely through their own effort. Paul’s caution about feelings of super-spirituality may also imply underlying competitiveness, leading some in the church to judge themselves to be “better” or more spiritual than others.

It is unlikely that Paul specifically had disability in mind as he wrote these words, but his warning applies to adopting an attitude of superiority over people who live with a disability or the presupposition that being able-bodied makes a person more worthy of God’s love and grace. The warning to “take heed lest you fall” is aimed at spiritual attitudes but, in the context of disability, could also be taken literally: a fall could easily result in a disability. Self-pride does not shield a person from becoming disabled. The encouragement to flee from idolatry (10:14) includes running from self-idolatry – pride in our ability and accomplishments. Such a posture can morph into discrimination against and separation from individuals and families dealing with disability.

Paul attributed the divisive factions among the Corinthian believers to the absence of godly love for one another, coupled with an abundance of self-love. Matthew 22:36-40 records Jesus’ response to a question about which commandment is the greatest. Jesus quoted the Old Testament instruction to love God and to love your neighbor as you love yourself (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18), tying the two thoughts together: loving God requires and is demonstrated by loving our neighbor. But sometimes, our idea of “neighbor” is restricted to persons or groups like us. People with a significant disability may then be consciously or unconsciously excluded from the category of neighbor. Some people may verbally keep them at a distance, talk around them as if they are not there, avoid them altogether, or complain about their presence in the church. But fellow believers with whom we gather for worship are our “neighbors” (really, our brothers and sisters in Christ), and we are to love them without regard to their ability or disability. Concern for their best interest is essential.

Loving our neighbor is a necessary and essential outgrowth of loving God. 1 John 3:18 indicates that love must not be just words or talk but in deed and truth. Godly love flows from unity and oneness in the body of Christ while at the same time strengthening that unity and oneness. All believers, whether able-bodied or disabled, share in Christ. This communion or participation unites us as believers.

We can all agree with Paul’s statement that temptations are common (10:13), but there is no direct connection between temptation and disability. Someone may be tempted to climb a tree but lose their grip, fall, and become disabled. The disability is the result of gravity and natural consequences, not the temptation. Paul says God will faithfully provide an escape from the temptation but not from the consequences. Some naively believe Paul to be saying God will remove a disability if we pray earnestly, but Paul’s focus is on temptations and problems, not disability. From God’s perspective, disability is not a problem. Paul wrote in Romans 8:28-29 that for those who love God and are called according to his purposes, God works all things together for good – “good,” meaning useful or beneficial. Paul is not saying that all things, in and of themselves, are good in the sense of being advantageous, but for believers, they are good in an ultimate sense (Beates, 2012). We may not regard becoming disabled, or birthing a child with a disability as something “good” in the sense of being desirable. Still, God can use this in a way that ultimate good results including, but not limited to, their being spiritually conformed to the image of Jesus. Disability, or the circumstances that may lead to becoming disabled, is not the result of “bad luck.” God may not be the direct cause of a person’s disability, but God is sovereign over the factors that led to the disability.

Disability is not stronger than God, and God’s promise cannot be voided by disability. God’s perfect plans and the way he accomplishes them may not be what we expect, but they can still lead to “good.” Joni Eareckson Tada’s paralysis, for example, was not an unfortunate accident from God’s perspective. God is omniscient and was not caught off-guard when she became paralyzed. God chose not to cure Joni’s paralysis but to use her, a person with a disability, to bring glory to himself and grace and salvation to many disabled people worldwide through the ministry of Joni and Friends (www.joniandfriends.org). Her paralysis, coupled with her faith in a loving, gracious God, has led to hope being brought to many disabled individuals and their families. God has a reason for allowing things we may find undesirable to enter our lives, such as becoming disabled, but he is not required to explain why he permits them. We are obligated to trust God and follow wherever and however he leads. And Christians who are non-disabled must welcome, accept, and include persons living with disability as our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Wright (2004) wrote, “The battle for the mind remains central to the church’s task in this and every age (and) has to be fought inside the church as well” (p. 107)