Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable,” states Paul in his letter to the church of Corinth after a lengthy discussion on death and resurrection. Paul’s discussion parallels other Pauline texts as he lays out in different contexts the wrestling between the will of humanity and the will of God. Paul minces words little in this letter to the church.

We can only imagine the temptations for distraction that existed in the ancient world in general. Marriage is different then than in the world we live in today. Spousal expectations are different. Even basic rules of society would be foreign to our understanding now. But we can relate to the difficulties of trying to live a life full of imperishable characteristics in a society that revolves around the perishable. Corinth, whose patron goddess is Aphrodite, is a port city with much traffic and trade. We can understand easily the admonitions Paul gives to the church about what is perishable (bad) and what is imperishable (good). In a bustling port city dependent on the patronage of Aphrodite, it would be easy for anyone to lose focus and to begin to participate in habits that do not represent the realm of God.

While our world today differs from the city of Corinth in some ways, we can pull the basic tenets of inspiration from Paul’s writing. Paul calls us to surround ourselves with those things that represent another realm, those things that represent the kingdom of God. Hate, jealousy, and exploitation cause suffering and harm to our neighbors in our time just as in Paul’s. Paul invites us to surround ourselves with the characteristics of an imperishable society that represents God: love, peace, forgiveness, and justice. We will find these characteristics when we walk closer to the realm of God.