“But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?” (2Co 2:1-2 AV)
Mistakes, mistakes. Paul mentions that he will not make the same mistake again. Paul went to the Corinthian church in heaviness. This affected the church as a whole. The reason for never going to church in a downcast manner is evident here. Paul states if he attends church with a defeated demeanor, all he will accomplish is to bring others down with him. The idea is simple. If Paul arrives in a defeated spirit, there is no hope for him to be encouraged. All he will accomplish is remain in the defeated spirit in which he finds himself. If, on the other hand, he arrives in a disposition that exudes faith, others will pick up on that had he will be encouraged in his spirit. We know this principle. We understand this to be true. However, it is a hard thing to pull off.
To think of an example would not be all that difficult. We do this all the time. I am guilty of this just as much as anyone else. In our culture, Self tends to come first. We seek pity, affirmation, and self-worth. We want to be the center of our own world. If people do not fawn over us, we feel unloved and alone. I can think of numerous examples, in my own life as well as others, of those who come to an assembly with a dark cloud handing over us. But I can think of someone who did just the opposite. My mother passed away from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. I went to see her while she was getting her infusion and watching her and others there really impressed me. About six or eight patients were sitting in recliners with tubes running to their ports. These treatments take hours and not minutes. While they were there, they sat more than stood or walked. They could go to the restroom, but because of the nature of their medication, they could not leave the treatment area. You would think a group of people in this situation would not be the most amiable of all people. But they are. These folks had shared circumstances. Rather than discourage one another and complain about every detail of their trouble, they did just the opposite. This tends to be universal. As many hospital visits I have done, I have noticed those who have serious conditions tend to be more of an encouragement than you would think. They learned something. Who is going to listen to your complaints when they have troubles of their own? I left my Mom with a profound and humble gratitude for the hope and faith others have.
Paul does not minimize his troubles. He does not ignore them as though they did not exist. He realizes that going to the fellowship of others in a defeated spirit only serves to bring others down and doesn’t raise him up in the process. He also does not cease fellowship because he is having a hard time. He doesn’t have the attitude that if he cannot be a positive influence while going through a hard time, he may as well not attend at all. Rather, the cure for overcoming the circumstances of life is to live above them and be around others who are living above theirs. Prayer become much different. Rather than praying only in the voice of empathy. Compassion can only go so far if not mixed with faith. Paul admits his fault for bringing others down because he was down. He confesses his sin and decides it will never happen again. He will come again, regardless of his circumstances, and seek to show his faith rather than his discouragement. This results in others doing the same.
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