Discovery: In last week's sermon, I discussed how Christian suffering and comfort go hand in hand. The Christian life is not an easy one and thus we should not be surprised when difficulties and challenges come our way. In today's passage, we see that Christian leadership is also wrought with many potential dangers and pitfalls.
The verse that particularly stands out to me this week is v. 12: "Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God's grace." Paul's confidence comes from his integrity and faithfulness to God which is allowable by His grace. This serves as the foundation of everything that he does in ministry and life.
Later in our passage, we see that people begin to question his commitments and character. Some in the Corinthian church saw his "slight" of not visiting them as an indictment against his character. vv. 15-17: "15 Because I was confident of this, I planned to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. 16 I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea. 17 When I planned this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say, "Yes, yes" and "No, no"?"
This passage reveals a hard reality: one's best intentions can easily be misunderstood and misinterpreted. Worse, they can also be used against you.
Application: Simply put, as leaders we need to work on the principles found in v. 12 if we are going to weather the challenges like the ones we see in vv. 15-17. The apostle Paul's foundation of integrity and personal devotion to God allowed him to stand firm when the personal attacks and misunderstandings arose in his correspondence with the Corinthian Church.
The take away for me this week is so crystal clear. There are naturally times when I wonder what God has in store for me in life. I always have questions about the future, ministry, family, friendships, missions, etc... It is really easy to "dream big" about God's will for me as it pertains to the future but I need to remind myself to "stand firm" in my daily life.
Because without integrity and personal righteousness, this is all for naught. It is really humbling and downright scary. Years of respect and character building can all be flushed down the toilet with one error. This is obviously the most extreme of examples. But even in the general life of ministry and pastoral work, the problems that Paul faced with the Corinthian church resonant with my own experiences. As a pastor, I know that I am not always given the benefit of the doubt. In many ways this is a good thing (we are all sinners) but in other ways it can be unrealistic (expecting you to be perfect). It is particularly heart breaking to see my best intentions be misconstrued and occasionally twisted to represent something completely antithetical to what I intended. I have realized over time, that is just a part of ministry life.
v. 12 reminds me to strive to live my life in the light and to make the pursuit of integrity and personal righteousness my daily devotion. This is the most important thing that any leader can do.
Prayer: As always Lord, help me get back to the basic "bread and butter" of discipleship. Speak to me in my times in your Word, prayer, fellowship as well as in my daily "faith" steps that you lead me in.
