Devotional on 1 Corinthians

2014 – Pacific City, OR

You get what you pay for

1Corinthians 9: We who are on missionary assignments for God have a right to decent accommodations.

Frankly, the church at Corinth is every pastor’s nightmare. There’s sin in the church and the church has a bad reputation in the city. There are factions wrestling for control and leadership that isn’t leading, at least in any positive direction. Some, apparently, are questioning Paul’s authority, pointing out that he was there as a volunteer and in no official capacity. The Apostle claims his authority over them as one who has a personal commission from Christ. He concedes that he never accepted salary from them, but contends that if he had done that, it would have been his right. He reminds them that’s it’s a biblical principle that those who serve ought to be paid for their service. Now, in a strange twist, the fact that Paul served them without pay during his time with them is being used by some as reason to discount his ministry. It’s a no-win situation for Paul. If he had he accepted salary from them they’d have felt they owned him. Now since he didn’t accept salary they question his authority over them. The Apostle makes the best of it, reminding them that at least they can’t accuse him of just being in it for the money. Probably the best take-away here is that those who serve have every reason to expect financial support for doing so. At the same time though, there’s a time and place to just give away our service of the Lord. To some extent this sets us free from the domination and expectations of those we serve.

Take Away: A worker is worth his or her hire – at the same time, sometimes it’s best to just give our work away for the sake of Christ.

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