Who Gets the Credit?
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 1 Corinthians 3:6
During my daughter’s school years, she disliked group work. “I did my part, but we got a C because Jimmy didn’t do his work,” she said. Or “Julie took credit for what I did.” I empathized. I’d felt the same way about group work. I wanted the reward for working hard, and I didn’t want others to receive what I deserved.
The apostle Paul encountered a similar problem in Corinth. The church members were quarreling about whether Paul or Apollos should receive credit for 
establishing their church and helping them grow as Christians (1 Corinthians 3:3-5). The Corinthians wanted one person to be esteemed above another as if Apollos and Paul were competing for a prize.
Paul told them to stop acting like infants (3:1). Mature Christians, he said, don’t worry about who does or doesn’t receive credit. All the glory goes to God (3:7-9). No leader, worker, or volunteer should receive sole credit for work accomplished by many: “Neither he that plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (3:8). In other words, even though every servant’s task is an equally important part of God’s plan, every servant of God is equally unimportant when compared to him.
In a selfie-obsessed culture, directing attention away from ourselves may be difficult. But a community mindset is essential among God’s people. “Nobody should seek his own good,” Paul wrote, “but the good of others” (1 Corinthians 10:24). Part of that community good is releasing the need to be recognized for what we do as individuals. What unifies the Christian community is the mutual mission of glorifying God and spreading his gospel. We are also called to build his church by equipping and encouraging one another.
Putting God first is a lifelong struggle. The pull toward self-exaltation is strong. I still bristle when I feel under-appreciated or overlooked. But when I refocus my attention on God, I’m able to echo the psalmist’s prayer: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness” (Psalm 115:1).
May the Holy Spirit nudge us closer to that goal each day.
DIG DEEPER
In 1 Corinthians 3:5-8, Paul compares the Christian community to workers in a field. In chapter 12, verses 12-26, he compares it to a human body. How are these two metaphors similar? How are they different?
Read Galatians 6:1-5. How can this mindset about other Christians help us all be more productive workers in God’s kingdom and reap a greater harvest for his glory?
In chapter 17 of John’s gospel, the apostle records one of Jesus’s prayers. What does Jesus say in verses 20-23 about the importance of unity? What could you do to promote unity among Christians in your church and your community?
Denise K. Loock
This devotion is part of a series on the But God events of the Bible.