A Good Reputation
A GOOD REPUTATION
2 CORINTHIANS 9:1-5
Paul wants to see spontaneous giving, not grudging duty.
This chapter, which continues the theme of “the offering for the saints” (9:1) falls into two parts. 9:1-5 appeal to two motives in order to reinforce the spirit of love in the matter of the collection. Can you name them? Then, 9:6-15 go on further to urge Christian generosity, and Paul quotes the blessings which accompany such an attitude.
The introductory phrase of 9:1 is a literary device used to resume the writer’s counsel. In the opening section, the thought is governed by the contrast between the churches of Macedonia and the church at Corinth. Paul’s honor is at stake because he has set out the Corinthian community as a model of readiness to contribute, but their delay in completing the matter (caused, no doubt, by the upset within the church) seems to contradict this honor Paul has set on them. So now he calls on them to fulfill their task and, in so doing, to confirm the confidence he has in them. Above all, he wants the money to be forthcoming freely, and he picks out a number of expressive ways of getting home this truth (9:2,5), the last reference is particularly telling and incisive: he wants their gift to be made spontaneously, not given as a grudging duty.
Note 9:2-4: the two ways in which Paul drives home his appeal are given. They are imitation, with the Macedonians setting the standard, and shame, to avoid the Corinthians’ slackness in any way reflecting adversely on Paul’s confidence in them or their own self-respect.
Thought What can you learn from Paul as a spiritual director and pastor, armed with that most necessary quality—tact and the right approach to a delicate situation?