1 Corinthians 15:58 says: “So then, dear brothers and sisters, be firm. Do not be moved. Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is simply to be firm, to not be moved. For Paul to tell us not to be moved means there are forces and influences wanting to move us. There are people who will mock you for being steadfast and immovable, as if you do not have anything else to do with your life. “Why don’t you look at this shining object in this direction? Look at that other shining object. Look at your mates”—that is the trump card. “Look at that person. Why are you not like that other person? Why don’t you be like that other person?”
This is Paul’s charge to you: dear brothers and sisters, be firm. And firmness does not equal rudeness. Firmness means you are sourcing your identity from Christ and not from any other connection.
Jesus Christ said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). He is telling you that the temptation to be pulled away from being firm may come from your closest associates, your closest connections.
We have been told to be firm. Do not be moved. Be consistent. Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Why would Paul need to charge us to know that our labor is not in vain? Because there is a tendency to begin to count things based on human standards, to begin to look at things based on human perspective.
So be firm. Be firm. Let your priority for the kingdom of God be your priority for the kingdom of God. Let it be unchanging.
Somebody told Jesus, “Lord, I will follow you, but first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:59–60). It is about priority. “I am calling you to prioritize Me, to prioritize My kingdom.”
“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Seeking is deliberate. Seeking is intentional. I want to caution us and make us aware of possible influences that can be deployed against us by the devil to move us away, to make us stop being firm. It could be mockery. It could be name‑calling. It could be persecution.
Jesus Christ’s firmness in obeying God was tested. The enemy came and tried to move Him away from that—once, then a second time, and a third time (see Matthew 4:1–11). That is why we have the charge to be firm, to be unmovable. Eve was moved from the path of consistency (Genesis 3). Reject all persuasions against your firmness in the truth, your firmness in the Lord, your firmness in the things of God. Reject all persuasions to the contrary.
“Let your eyes look directly in front of you and let your gaze look straight before you” (Proverbs 4:25). Be steadfast, immovable. Do not be moved. Refuse to be moved. Be outstanding in the work of the Lord, because it is not in vain.
In the ultimate scheme of things, Jesus Christ said, “Look! I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to pay each one according to what he has done!” (Revelation 22:12). In parables, He said the master is going away; He leaves the servants and gives them things, and they are supposed to be occupied with those things until he comes (see Luke 19:11–27). There was a lazy servant who was rebuked. There was another servant who was distracted and was doing other things rather than focusing on the master’s priority.
What are your gifts and calling? You have the charge to be immovable, to not seek human accolades, to not say, “This thing is not working; let me do something else.” That would be terrible. To say, “People do not like me doing this; let me do something people are going to like me doing.” That is going to be terrible. That is the truth.
God bless you.