“I will take Paul for my comrade, and like him will discourse and say, “Let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper.” Now observe also how he avoids being burdensome. He said not, “so much,” or “so much,” but “as he may prosper,” whether much or little. Neither said he, “what any one may have gained,” but, “as he may prosper” signifying that the supply is of God.
John Chrysostom (347-407) in Homily on First Corinthians 43.4.
I am just outside of Washington D.C. and will share devotionals today and tomorrow linked to the Jerusalem collection at meetings between ECFA leaders and Korean church leaders. The purpose of my visit is to discuss the history and standards of the ECFA in America and to discern prayerfully how to best encourage the formation of such an entity in Korea. God help us!
For inspiration I read John Chrysostom’s commentary on 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 this morning. Though some 300 years separated Paul and John Chrysostom, they are “comrades” calling everyone to give to the poor as God supplies. Alms are not optional and they must be carefully administrated. Also, such giving does not to flow from “our gain” but instead from “God’s supply.” There is a difference!
Gain is something many in modernity see as “good” thinking that “God wants me to make lots of money so I can bless the poor.” In Scripture, Paul told Titus that God’s leaders must not desire gain (cf. Titus 1:7). So how should we understand these terms and what are the implications for our lives? Gain is the opposite of prosperity. Gain is what I try amass as if God depends on me. Prosperity results from obedience and represents the fruitfulness that flows from faithfulness. It is what God supplies to me.
So Paul…and later John Chrysostom…and today I am reminding my “comrades” around the world that each of us gets to participate in God’s work as God prospers us, and whatever we do, we must not go after gain because we’ll expend our energies going after the wrong goal. So what should we do? Let us work not for gain but to bring glory to God, and as we prosper, let’s be known for our sharing that is carefully administrated.
Are you prospering now? If so, share something today with someone you know who is in need.