1 Corinthians 11:17

1 Corinthians 11:17 says, Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.  Paul said that when the church gathered together, it was not to become better in Christ, but for their own purposes.  The way they gathered together did not bring unity in Christ, but separation based on worldly status.  We today cannot allow our earthly status to prevent us from worshipping with any of God's followers.  Verse eighteen adds, For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.  Paul said that he heard that there were divisions in the church when they met, and that he partly believed it.  Paul did not want to believe that Christians would act in such a manner as to bring dishonor to God, but since he was hearing the reports, he had to at least consider that it might be true.  We are not to condemn the actions of people in a church simply based on what we may hear, but if their actions are such as to bring dishonor to the church as a whole, we must deal with it.  Verse nineteen continues, For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.  Paul said that they must have allowed heresies into the church.  We today must be careful that we don't allow false teachings to enter the church.  If we decide that the doctrine of the church is more important than the teachings of Christ, then we may allow heresies to enter the church.  If we fail to speak out against social injustice, or even go so far as to endorse it, then we have allowed heresies into the church.  There can be no them and us in the church, as we are all the same in the eyes of God.  Everything in the earth belongs to God, and we are entrusted with using everything for His glory, not for our own selfish desires.  Verse twenty states, When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper.  Paul was addressing the observance of the Lord's supper, and the fact that they were not observing it for the right reasons.  This should be a time when the church is truly united, but they weren't.  Verse twenty-one adds, For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.  Now, as we observe the Lord's supper, we all have the same amount of bread and drink, but evidently in the church at Corinth it was more of a real supper.  Instead of uniting as one group of believers sharing everything equally, they were breaking into groups where some over indulged and some went hungry. Verse twenty-two continues, What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.  Paul said that if they wanted to overindulge, they should do it at home, and not show that they despised the church of God by shaming those that had nothing.  Today, as followers of Christ, our conduct should be the same anywhere we are, and especially should never do anything to shame Christians who are less fortunate than us when we gather as the body of Christ, the church.  If we start to whisper about how people are dressed or how they act, then we do not bring honor to God.  Our actions, especially when we gather together in God's name, should be never in anyway bring dishonor to God or cause anyone gathered with us to feel like they are less than we are.  We are all but sinners saved by grace, and through salvation we are all made equal, no matter our status in the world.