Ethical Walk

“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Ga 5:25 AV)

Walking in the Spirit is defined as crucifying the affections and lusts of the flesh in the previous verse of our passage.  Although this is not the only manifestation of walking in the Spirit, it is the manifestation Paul mentions in the context of our passage.  What we want to dwell on for our devotions today is living verses walking in the Spirit and why living in the Spirit requires the ethical practice of walking in the Spirit. 

 This concept is actually a very easy one to understand.  Living in the Spirit here means born again.  We are made spiritually alive by the ministry of the Holy Spirit and therefore, we are alive, or have our life in, the Spirit.  Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sin which separated us from God.  This separation is referred to as death.  When Christ paid the penalty of our sin, He reconciled the world unto Himself.  He opened the door that we might personally be reconciled to the Creator God who desires to fellowship with us.  The evidence of that reconciliation is regeneration by the Spirit promised by Christ before He ascended on high.  This life we no have, we have by the power of the Spirit.  We have our life in the Spirit.  Or, we live in the Spirit.

 But living is not really living.  Living could be reduced to mere existing.  Just because our hearts are beating doesn’t mean we are really alive.  More than this, those who give us the life we enjoy are owed something in return.  If our mother and father were used of the Creator to give us life, then we owe them to a certain degree.  As children living at home, we owe them obedience.  As adults, we still owe them honor.  This is the ethical thing to do.  In the same vein, if it is the Spirit that gives us life, then we owe it to Him to walk in Him.  Not merely spiritually exist in Him.

 Years ago, there was this commercial of a family going on vacation.  There was Mom and Dad, an eight to ten-year-old son, and a teenage daughter.  The commercial started out be expounding on the attitude of a teenager bent on not having any fun because it might seem childish or even worse, conforming to expectations.  There were three or four shots of activities that showed her folding her arms refusing to grant even the slightest smile.  Then, over time, she broke down and participated in communing with her family.  This is how we are as believers.  We take advantage of the life we have been granted in Christ by the Spirit, but we refuse to live according to the expectations of that life.  This is unethical, dishonest, immature, and downright selfish.  If we have the life of Christ in us by the Spirit’s ministry, then we owe it to Him to walk in Him as well.

Condemnation Before Salvation

“But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” (Ga 3:22 AV)

It is often, and rightly, said that one cannot lead a soul to Christ unless he realizes he is lost.  This is so true.  We have a problem in evangelical circles today and that is just it.  The movement is “leading people to Christ” who have no idea what it means to be lost.  Paul is making the argument for the purpose of the law.  Since the promise of righteousness by faith was given to Abraham and his seed 430 years prior to the giving of the law to Moses, what purpose does the law make?  It actually makes perfect sense to give the promise before the need for that promise is revealed.  More on that in just a bit.  Suffice it so say, Paul correctly teaches us the law is that tool which reveals to us just how lost and accountable we are.  It reveals the holiness of God.  The law reveals God’s standard for each individual and also warns failure to keep that law results in condemnation.  Therefore, the law was never intended to save anyone.  It was given for several purpose.  In our passage, Paul reveals the law was given to teach us our need of a Redeemer because we cannot redeem ourselves.

 I know that I have used this example in my life before; but bear with me.  When I reached the height of thirty-six inches, it was time for swimming lessons.  My parents thought it was prudent to teach their children how to swim.  They were correct.  I still remember that first day.  The instructor had is read the depth of the water painted on the rim of the pool.  He then had us stand against the wall and read our height.  He asked the question, “If you were to merely stand on the bottom of the pool, would your head be above water?”  He then showed us the rescue pole.  Tell us that in any event that he felt we were in trouble; we would feel the tap of the pole on our head and all we had to do was reach for it and he would pull us to the side of the pool.  We had all the evidence we needed to jump in the pool.  This took little faith.  But then we moved to the deep end.  The end where standing on the bottom was not an option.  Knowing that we could not sustain ourselves in that pool, he made us jump in anyway.  Soon, we felt the tap of the pole and were pulled to safety.  The promise had to come before the attempt.  The attempt revealed to us the need of the promise.  Eventually, we learned how to swim in the deep end.  But learning how could only come by trust in a promise.

 The law is not something to reject.  It is still our schoolmaster.  As Paul stated, it was our schoolmaster to bring us unto faith in Christ for our salvation.  It is still our guide into holiness.  The law is holy, just, and good.  But what we want to consider this Lord’s Day is exactly what the law did for us and the value of it.  It condemned us all and revealed our need of mercy and grace in the person and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  It condemned us as wicked and unworthy.  As one reads the Old Testament, he is made keenly aware how sinful he is.  This is what is missing in today’s presentation of the gospel.  Evangelicalism is avoiding the discussion of sin because it does not want to be a downer.  “Just give Jesus your life.” “Ask Jesus into your heart.” Or, “Welcome Jesus as your Savior.”  Savior from what?  There is little discussion on our sin and need for the mercy of God.  The law is ignored and therefore, those who are “coming to Christ” are doing so as a consumer comes to a restaurant.  Not for forgiveness and mercy, but rather, as asking amiss that we might consume Him upon our lusts.

Power From Powerlessness

“For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.” (2Co 13:4 AV)

The later chapters of Second Corinthians was written by Paul to defend his Apostleship to a church who judged according to superficial standards.  One of those standards was Paul’s bluntness as compared to the eloquence presented by false teachers and prophets.  Another was the seemingly senseless suffering and degradation Paul suffered at the hands of his persecutors.  The reference to which Paul makes of his weakness as stated above might be the thorn in the flesh which was never removed after praying three times for it to be removed.  Perhaps, as some have suggested, Paul suffered sight loss as a result of the stoning at Lystra which nearly took his life.  He comes to churches and must be led about or assisted in some way by those accompanying him.  As carnal Christians are apt to do, they assume Paul did some horrible thing, or is living is some horrible sin which resulted in the chastening hand of God.  In our text, Paul makes the comparison to the death and resurrection of Christ.  As Jesus died and was buried in His state of human weakness, yet rose again glorified in heaven to be the intercessor of His sheep, Paul has been humbled by a thorn, but has resulted in all the more power by the Spirit of God.  We want to look at this from a slightly more personal application on this day which the LORD hath made.

 When we are young, we do not realize just how much it is the power of God that sustains us.  Then something funny happens.  We age.  In the process of aging, we realize just how much the Spirit of God sustains and empowers us to continue in His service.  I have been recently diagnosed with a condition that explains a lot of things going on.  One of those is fatigue.  After tests and treatments from my doctor, I can say that I feel like a completely different person.  Looking back on the last few years, I have to wonder how I made it.  I am also realizing that I now have to approach life completely different.  Life choices, specially diet, has to be looked at in and entirely different way.  Rest and stress have to be managed.  In short, a more disciplined lifestyle is in order.  But there is something else I have learned.  My thorn in the flesh has actually had the opposite effect that would be expected.  By the Spirit of God, I find myself dreaming more and more of what the LORD can do with this infirmed body and mind of mine.  I see hope.  I don’t see obstacles.  Just challenges.  I have also learned that if there is anything good that can come of my life it is solely by the power and presence of God and not of myself.

 Infirmities can be frightening.  They can be confusing.  They can be life changing.  However, in those infirmities, we begin to learn of the power of God in a way that we would never have learned before.  I finished a book recently.  It briefly detailed the lives of men and women who were influential in the history of Christianity.  What struck me was how many suffered from infirmities, yet never let it discourage them from deeper service for Christ.  My infirmity is mild compared to some.  In the coming years it may get a bit more challenging.  I don’t see this as a discouragement.  I really do not.  I see it as an opportunity.  It forces the believer to surrender more and more of what he or she is and places total trust and reliance upon the LORD for guidance and strength.  It is a blessing in disguise.  For a carnal church like Corinth, they saw Paul’s infirmity as a liability.  That just goes to show you how shallow people can be.  Instead, it was the power of God which enables Paul to overcome and use his infirmity for the glory of God that was proof of God’s hand upon him.  Some of the most influential events of my walk with God came at the hands of the infirmed servants of God.  I crippled evangelist, a dwarfed soprano, a deaf pastor, and a wheelchair bound Vietnam vet called to preach had more impact than all the other preachers God sent my way!  There is power in our infirmities.  Welcome them and ask God to overcome them that we might be used of God for the furtherance of His glory!

Sins of the Mind

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” (2Co 10:5-6 AV)

There is a debate over the sinfulness of thoughts.  One opinion is that thoughts randomly come into our minds and it is only sin if we dwell on it.  I beg to differ.  The thought, whether we think they are random or not, can be captured and controlled.  Our context tells us so.  There are triggers to thoughts.  Go to a public place that accommodates immodesty (which is pretty much every place but a separated church) and impure thoughts can enter the mind.  Come into our home around the holiday season and I can guarantee you will have thoughts of holiday feasts.  Our environment plays a large part in what we think on.  Our attitude, our heart, and even our physical health can all play a part in our thought life.  If that is so; if stimuli play a large part in that upon which we muse, then our thought life can be controlled.  Which also means that thoughts can be disobedience. 

Try as we may, we cannot think on more than one specific thing at a time.  Some may argue this because multi-tasking is possible.  However, all an individual has done is rapidly organized mini-tasks in an order so that more than on thing can be done.  Our brains are capable of only reasoning one thing at a time.  Which makes the above advice sound advice.  The thought can be cast down and another replace it.  We are not a slave to our emotional or mental person.  They can be trained.  They can be disciplined.  They can be modified.

Years ago, I had this discussion in a Wednesday evening prayer meeting.  There was a hefty debate on the subject.  Some thought that thoughts were unavoidable, and therefore, amoral.  In fact, at the time, most believed this to be so.  But let me ask you a question in the form of a scenario.  A young married couple is walking down the great hallway of a typical mall.  It is summer time.  People are dressed in a less than casual way.  This young couple is newly married.  As they walk down the great hallway, they happen to go by a lingerie store.  The new groom’s attention is drawn to the larger than life advertisement.  His new bride notices and gives him a look that says, “I understand, but you are married now.”  He notices and off they go.  As they continue to walk, they are behind a young lady who is obviously dressed for the purpose of seducing every male that happens to glance at her.  This young groom notices.  The young bride notices that he notices and punches him in the arm.  Was she justified?  How does she know what is going on in his mind?  It could have been movement alone that caused his gaze to briefly rest on what turned out to be an enticing temptation.  She is thinking, “Why did you even look?”  Is she right?

We can, and should, practice the discipline of mental control.  Our passage teaches us it is possible.  It is possible to captivate and control thoughts.  To do otherwise is to walk down the path of disobedience.

More Than Skin Deep

“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.” (2Co 5:14-16 AV)

Knowing that Jesus Christ died that all people everywhere might enjoy the pleasures of eternal life should change how we view our fellow mankind.  In light of the universal offer of salvation, Paul says that he no longer views people skin deep.  He sees them beyond the mere temporal observation which most seem to see.  He doesn’t see his mechanic as a mechanic.  He doesn’t see his doctor as a doctor.  He doesn’t see his neighbor as a pleasant soul with whom he can have a conversation.  He doesn’t see his kin as mere offspring who share the same parents.  He doesn’t see the police officer as merely an enforcer of the law.  He no longer knows people after the manner of the flesh.  That is, he no longer sees people as temporal beings that perform a function on earth and then pass away.  He sees people as spiritual beings for whom Christ died.

 Imagine a doctor who enters a small village and notices right off the bat these poor natives are suffering from a deadly, but curable, disease.  He looks into their eyes and notices they are yellow.  He notices muscle atrophy.  He sees their teeth are falling out.  He notices their hair seems to be prematurely turning white.  Their fingernails have a distinct pattern.  All these symptoms point to a fatal, yet curable, disease.  All of a sudden, the part they play in their society does not matter.  The relationships they share among themselves has little meaning.  Their personalities or quirks are of no significance.  The social status or net worth is of no consequence.  The fact they have this disease and the doctor has the cure is all that matters.

 We go through our busy lives and know people after the flesh.  We speak to, and know, the waitress who cares for our need while dining at our favorite restaurant.  We know her name because she wears a tag.  We know the bank teller that manages our accounts.  We may even speak to him or her in a friendly and cordial manner.  We know our doctor who we pay to read results and tend to our health.  We know the refuge collector, the electrician, and the city worker.  We know the police officer, the fireman, and the emergency room technician.  We know our teachers, our lawyers, and our politicians.  We know them after the flesh.  But do we know them as a soul for whom Christ died.  This is the point of Paul’s testimony.  This is the anchor of a true soul-winner.  He does not know people after the flesh.  What they do for a living may be interesting.  But it has no bearing on their eternal soul.  Whichever of the four personality types he may be has no bearing on a soul’s eternal destiny.  How much they make, what they have accomplished in life, or what part they fulfill in the function of society has no eternal value to their salvation.  What matters is they are a soul for whom Christ dies and needs a faithful witness to testify to them of the forgiveness which can only come by faith in Jesus Christ.

You Cannot Defeat A Dead Man

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” (2Co 4:8-11 AV)

We all suffer from hardships.  This passage above is not recipe for good time in the midst of bad times one hundred percent of the time.  But it is a solution for living in victory even when it appears to be defeat.  If we take note of the negative emotions which Paul admits to, they seem like they can be overwhelming.  There is troubled (afflicted), persecution, perplexed (trapped), and cast down which means thrown down as in a boxer who is thrown to the mat and cannot rise.  These are not pleasant experiences.  Then Paul states they will not arrive that the deepest sense of those same emotions.  Distressed means hemmed in as in squeezed tightly with no hope of escape.   Despair means to be completely without hope.  Forsaken is the ultimate end of persecution. Solitary confinement without any companionship in misery.  Destruction would be the same as if that boxer lost his life in the process.  In other words, Paul is not telling us these emotions are avoidable.  They may not be.  There are times of trouble, persecution, being perplexed, and depression.  We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t feel this way.  What Paul is saying is there is a way we can live through these things and come out the other end being used of God rather than to suffer total and complete defeat.

 One of the reasons these emotions can get a grip on our minds and hearts is that we have failed to completely surrender.  We have failed to agree with God that our lives are not our own. If we are totally and completely surrendered to the will of God, then these emotions, when they come, will be seen in the truth and reality that God has asked us to go through the events that caused them for His glory and we feel privileged to do so.  This is to what the great Apostle is referring when he stated the underlined portion of text.  Paul, and those with him, had already decided that no matter what God asked them to do or go through, they would do it.  They bore in their minds the mind of Christ.  That being, total surrender.  So, if the LORD asked them to go through things that resulted in trouble, persecution, being perplexed, or cast down, that was part of the deal in signing up for service.  They would not be defeated because in totally surrendering, there was nothing to defeat.  They had already determined no matter what, even to death, their life belonged to God.  This didn’t stop the emotions felt in the midst of trials.  What it did was it guarded those emotions from taking them to a place of total defeat and uselessness.

 I have been through a few circumstances that are similar.  There is a time when one has to give up thinking the situation at hand will turn out the way we want it to and just go with it.  Do what one can rather than try to accomplish what cannot be accomplished.  Discomfort is ignored and even becomes part of the expected experience.  One has a good cry knowing that our optimistic expectation will not happen and goes with the task at hand.  There are two which comes to mind.  One was a Boy Scout trip down the Erie Canal during a rainy Saturday morning.  The other was a hunting trip in which we harvested our game without thinking of the major undertaking it was to retrieve the downed animal.  Both of these experiences pushed me beyond what I thought I could endure.  But we made it.  Both experiences actually turned out to be more enjoyable than at first, they seemed to be.  Giving up on being warm and dry, we plodded along in the rain and made a game of it.  We dragged those deer out of the woods with a few friends and had a great time of fellowship in the process.  The point here is obvious.  If we are totally dead to self before we plod along in God’s perfect will, then there is nothing to defeat.  It has already been surrendered.  We are defeated because we never surrendered to begin with.

Know, Rather than Feel, that You Make A Difference

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (1Co 15:58 AV)

This is something that every servant of the LORD struggles with.  Does our service matter?  Are we making a difference?  Are lives changed?  Are people motivated to walk with God because of how we minister to them?  What strikes me here is the phrase, “…forasmuch as ye know…”  There is no wiggle room here.  This means that when we doubt our effectiveness or usefulness, it is not based on reason, but rather, emotion.  If Paul is stating we know, then reality is based in facts, not feelings.  This is the core of the struggle over our worth or effectiveness.

 There is a game we used to play with our teen class years ago.  It is a game that is readily available and still a lot of fun.  Perhaps you have heard of it.  It is called Jenga.  The object of the game is to pull out as many blocks before the tower collapsed.  We upped the fun factor by writing a dare on each block.  The players had to either perform the dare, or surrender the block to the opposing team.  The team with the most blocks won.  It may seem as though each individual block is insignificant.  However, any engineering expert will tell you that removing one block makes the whole structure a bit more unstable.  Each, on its own may not mean a whole lot.  At least to the casual observer.  Each one is significant, though, because to remove even one would make the whole just that bit less stable.  Science will tell us that energy in motion seeks to stay in motion.  We may even call it the law of cause and effect.  Every object or event is dependent upon agents interacting with it.  No event can self-originate.  No object came into being purely on its own.  Which means, simple interacting in our world means we effect it.  Either large or small.  The natural world teaches us that each component has and effect on all other components in which it come into contact.  Such it the case when considering our lives.

 As Clarence told George Bailey, “Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives.  When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”  So, here is our word of encouragement.  When we feel that our life doesn’t matter a whole lot, or if we are making any difference at all, just remember, we may not be seeing much difference, but the laws of nature and common sense tells us different.  God put us here to be part of a plan whether we feel we are a part of that plan or not.  One way or another, our lives will have an effect on others.  Therefore, the counsel of Paul is sound.  Don’t quit even if you feel the world would miss you at all.  It would.  Don’t retire thinking your efforts mean little.  They do mean something.  A smile could be the impetus to changing someone’s day who, in turn, helps another.  Paul’s statement is true.  We know this!  So, let us stop feeling sorry for ourselves and continue to make a difference.

Cohesiveness By Fire

“For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:” (1Co 12:24 AV)

The simplest idea of tempering is to co-mingle or mix into a cohesive single and new identity.  But the word has a bit more of a meaning then mere mixing.  It has the idea of softening those materials to be mixed so they can be co-mingled more thoroughly.  We use that word when speaking of mixing metals.  Tempered steel means the steal has been heated, then softened, cooled, and reheated again.  The more it is heated and worked, the more tempered it becomes.  The more tempered the steel, the harder it becomes because the individual materials that make up the steel have been diluted to its smallest form that it might accept the form of other material and harden to a new form.  To speak more plainly, heat is applied that material not normally cohesive in their natural state, might unite and become so.

 Have you ever asked yourself why churches seem to go through hardships?  Sometimes it the lack of planning.  Sometimes it is poor doctrine.  But sometimes, the hardships of persecution, trials, or striving over sin are the means God uses to add heat to the body that it might be tempered together into a cohesive and stronger body.  In my earlier Christian life, I didn’t like church problems.  I thought churches should be a place were there was no trouble.  Heaven on Earth, I thought.  Sometimes, the trouble was the way of the LORD to cleanse out problems.  Either problems with the church or problems with certain people in the church.  Other times, tragedy would be inflicted upon the church.  Still others, false accusations would be leveled.  I remember one such time when our singles class had an outreach at a local college and we were called into the deans office.  It was a good thing our leader knew the law.  These things are often allowed or sent by God to temper the body together.  It is interesting how self -interest dissolves in the midst of shared trouble.  All of a sudden, those difference we had don’t seem as insurmountable when trouble threatens our existence.

 I worked in a factor that attempted to mix three materials together than would not normal work.  There was a base.  Then there was a pliable substance that allowed for forming this material into a usable shape.  These two would not mix.  One was rigid.  The other pliable.  We struggle to get the two to mix.  The missing ingredient was a lubricant.  A substance that allow the two opposing materials to avoid friction as they mixed.  There is a message in that right there.  Which one are we?  But the force needed to mix it all together was heat.  Heat and pressure were applied that opposing material would mix into a unified whole.  We wish churches could be trouble free.  We wish they could be heaven on Earth.  The truth of the matter is, we need trouble that we might unite.  It is the method and means of God to temper the body as a usable whole.

Choose Charity over Liberty

“Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” (1Co 8:1 AV)

Paul goes on the explain what he meant by what he just wrote.  He uses the example of eating meat once offered to idols.  He goes a bit further and uses the example of someone who would go to a feast at a place were the meat was once offered to idols.  The one who understands that idols are not real and they are mere statues may not be offended at eating leftovers from a pagan practice because it is a good and cheap meal.  The meat would be discarded anyway and the pagan worship service has been long gone.  It is no more than eating meat that is just that.  Food.  Along comes someone who is considering Christ, or newly saved, sees the Christian eating a meal from meat once offered to an idol, and assumes the Christian condones and supports the false god.  The believer may well judge that it is just meat.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  He has knowledge.  However, no being sensitive to the lack of faith or maturity in others causes another to fall away or not get saved at all.  This is what Paul is driving at.  Let me give an example.

 Where I come from, it is not uncommon to see someone selling a chicken BBQ from a pit with picnic tables around.  A small country wayside where one can get a half-chicken and salt potatoes is amazing.  However, let us assume that the chickens were left over from a fund-raiser for a church which preached heresy.  Those selling the chickens are not returning the proceeds to the cultish assembly.  They are serving the meal for their own economic gain.  Perhaps this is a side business and they also donated part of their material to the fund-raiser.  Now, they are using what is left to recoup some of their costs.  You sit down, enjoy your BBQ, and go away completely satisfied.  You know the money you paid is not going back into the cult’s treasury.  You know the one cooking the meal belongs to that church, but the funds are going into his own pockets.  Along comes someone who was saved out of that cult and sees you.  He knows where those chickens came from.  He is offended and assumes your actions condone the existence of that cult.  Your knowledge frees your conscience to partake.  But, another man’s conscience does not.  Charity is the better choice here.

 How other feel matters.  This is a lost concept in our circles today.  We go where we want to go.  We listen to what we want to listen to.  We dress the way we dress.  We do what we want to do without any regard as to how it affects others.  Our liberty is the most important of all possessions.  We feel as though we are being unfairly judged and controlled because of the weak conscience of another.  But charity is the principle thing here.  We can rationalize away our choices.  And be right about it, too.  But logic and rationality are not the point.  How others perceive our liberty is.  Heaven forbid we should pass up a BBQ, listen only to godly music, or dress in an appropriate manner because someone else might be offended.  How dare they tell me how to live my life?  This is the finer points of Christian charity.  To be sensitive towards others and how our actions may affect them is a great step of spiritual maturity.  To limit our liberty for the conscience of another is a grown-up thing to do.  It is charity.

Not What He Seems

“Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.” (1Co 4:11-13 AV)

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Some in the Corinthian church had a hard time accepting Paul’s authority as an Apostle because of an outward standard.  Their outward standard was a good home, money in the bank, and stature among men.  This carnal way of thinking hasn’t changed all that much.  According to Paul’s testimony above, he often went without life’s basic necessities.  He was not a man of stature, but rather, a man under constant persecution.  A social outcast.  It is amazing how much value people place on an outward standard.  The man of God is often a man in need.  He doesn’t have the best of the best.  He isn’t well respected in the community.  He often goes without because he is not in high demand.  The man of God suffers more than the average.  At least it is not uncommon to see as such.

In context, Paul states the reason for suffering so is for the furtherance of the gospel and that the people in these churches might not have to suffer as they.  He is glad to go about the ministry as God has called him.  He leaves a place far better than he found it.  A church is planted and the gospel brings prosperity to a community.  Yet, there goes the missionary.  Off to a new place.  He doesn’t stick around long enough to enjoy the full fruits of his labor.  He goes to the next place and endures another round of hardships that the gospel might come and benefit a community of sinners.  The real tragedy here is Paul feels the need to defend himself against his critics.  Why?  Are they so superficial and ungrateful that they cannot see the cost paid by Paul and others.

I have been in many churches.  I have served in many areas.  No matter where you go, there are always those who will do despite to the gospel message because of the outward ‘quality’ of the messenger.  There are always those in your church who, according to this world, are far more successful than the man of God who will not accept the ministry of the man of God.  I remember, very early in my Bible education, I worked for a real estate company that had several lawyers.  One was a Jewish lawyer.  He gave me the time of day and would listen to the Bible’s explanation of who Jesus Christ was and is.  Another would have nothing to do with it.  What could a simple janitor know about anything?  After all, he graduated from an Ivory League school and earned six figures.  Truth is the same no matter who is delivering it.  We had better be careful we don’t qualify the message because our own standard rejects the messenger.