Defrauded - 1 Corinthians 6:1-8

Continuing with counsel about matters that were specifically affecting the Corinthian saints, Paul encourages the saints to not take each other to court over “the smallest matters.” In one way I understand this because outsiders looking in might see church members as petty, vengeful, or greedy and that’s a bad look for any group of people. Also those who are constantly caught up in litigation over relatively insignificant matters keep themselves in a state of victimization and negativity. These feelings are not conducive to a growing relationship with God. 

It seems that Paul is asking the saints settle the matters with each other between themselves, saying, “is it so, that there is not a wise man among you?, no not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?” I don’t think that this necessarily means that Paul was advocating for a legal panel for the church members, but that’s how the Jews handled their legal problems, with a theocratic judiciary, so it would make sense that he might be suggesting something similar to that.

But it could very well just be him advocating for people to seek out and heed wise counsel from others, even if it goes against what they want to do. For instance, Paul asks, “why do ye not rather take wrong? Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?” This statement seems very counter-intuitive because when someone is being taken advantage of, their first response isn’t “it’s fine, take what you want.” Most people have an inherent desire to recover what was lost, not only material things but also the lost dignity, respect and vulnerability. When someone hurts us, we want them to pay, it’s human nature.

But Paul is asking us to take a step back and ask ourselves if recovering what was taken is really the most important thing at that point. The word “defrauded” is cross-referenced with Luke 6:29 in which Jesus teaches, “And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.” Again, these statements are meant to be so coldly counter to our natural instincts that we are taken aback by the teachings and really have to stop and consider the consequences of our choices to engage in such dealings with others.

We know that historically, God is not a pacifist, but he never incited violence, in fact, he only advocated for war when the first 2 attempts at peace had failed, as per the Book of Mormon. So if someone punches us, our instructions are not to fight back, but to try and end the interaction quickly and without further damage. That applies here too, if someone takes advantage of us, or “defrauds” us, we are not told to fight back tooth and nail to get what is ours. It’s that moment of “stop and think this through” that Paul and the Savior are talking about. 

The IM says, “One of the causes for division among Church members in Corinth was that Christians were bringing fellow Church members before civil magistrates over trivial civil disputes. Paul counseled Church members to seek to resolve their differences among themselves rather than entering a lawsuit against a fellow member. Paul’s counsel reflects similar teachings that the Savior gave during His mortal ministry. Modern-day scripture acknowledges that there are times when it may be appropriate for Church members to pursue solutions to legal problems through the law of the land (see D&C 42:78-89).”

The point is almost always de-escalation. When someone wrongs you financially, then we are to stop and make sure that legal action is the best way to move forward, like in the example of these saints in Corinth. But there is also the case of the early saints who were persecuted and driven from their homes in the middle of the night in the winter, repeatedly. The knee-jerk reaction to that situation would be to fight back physically, but the Lord at the time counseled the saints to pursue legal action to redress the wrongs perpetrated against them. 

That seems to be counsel that goes counter to what we are told here, but it goes back to de-escalation. It seems like all the counsel that we get comes down to “check your instinctual reaction and go the next route down.” Clearly that isn’t exactly what is being said, but it seems to be the basics of it. And really, it’s good counsel because we are told to take time to prayerfully consider our options and then go with the one that the Spirit tells you to go with, which usually includes a lawful, orderly, relatively peaceful solution. So the next time you want to freak out, stop, and take a breath and then really think about what the best solution would be for your situation. That’s what I’m going to do more of.