Gleanings From The Text
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
In this passage, Paul emphasizes responsibility over prestige. He performs a tightrope act with his rhetoric; blending sacrifice with reward and freedom with constraint, in order to optimize his ability to share the gospel. Throughout the text, he is obliged to proclaim the gospel without giving in to boasting. In verse seventeen, Paul brings the notion of “calling” into direct conflict with his volition (see Conzelmann). He notes the ability to receive a reward through one’s volition, yet verse sixteen shows that it is a calling (obligation) that motivates him to proclaim the gospel rather than himself. Paul does not take this fork in the road as an opportunity to condemn rewards; rather he offers a working definition.
“What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.” (1 Cor. 9:18) Through this I invite you to consider Paul’s notion that the reward and the call are not mutually exclusive. A reward is found in proclaiming the gospel and this reward is the ability to…proclaim the gospel!
There is a freedom in Paul’s notion of becoming “all things to all people,” (1 Cor. 9:22) that is fostered through the compassion this stance connotes. It promotes versatility within the “called” individual and can generate the necessary amount of empathy that strengthens community.
Food For Thought
These qualities—which may get you labeled a populist in political circles—empower us to meet people where they are. Too often we do not help people with their own problems but offer advice that is too specific to our own plights. Perhaps you know someone who has great potential but is reluctant to follow opportunities because they feel unprepared or unworthy. Or people have developed an impervious image of you and consequently confessed that they “could never do what you do.” What if we were to operate under a duality that allows us to share our experiences in a manner that leads people into their strengths? My struggles with fear may lead you to overcome your anger but I cannot solely focus on fear when you are oppressed by anger. This empathy and understanding is possible when we are operating through obligation and not a personal search for reward. If I am concerned with showing you how good I am and the pursuit of my reward, how can I meet you in your circumstance? Won’t the gospel be impeded by my one-man show?
Sink Your Teeth Into This
Confessedly, my argument is founded upon a belief that proclaiming the gospel manifests itself in the physical realm through empowering people. Simply put, I believe acts of kindness are a suitable conduit for gospel proclamation. It saddens me that our world consistently generates mistrust amongst people. When an act of kindness is performed, people feel obliged to “pay you back” rather than “pay it forward.” Or when asked to perform an act of kindness, people often ask, “What’s in it for me?” This climate has led agents of social gospels to meet individualism halfway and link pursuits of happiness to greater causes. An example of this is a campaign encouraging consumers to buy particular items in order to support the fight against HIV/AIDS. For a while I admired this effort and considered it an ingenious way of forming a symbiotic relationship between the consumer and the cause. (Feel good and do good!) On World Aids Day, I came across a website that blasted this effort and proclaimed, “Shopping is not a solution. Buy (less). Give More.” (see www.buylesscrap.org) Does goodwill lose its merit if one receives something in return? If we are led to feel convicted about feeling good while doing good; should the act of spreading the gospel be purely sacrificial?
I suppose this amalgamation of social gospel and consumerism can lead people to follow their will and give fodder for boasting. I can feel good about myself if my restaurant meal helps fight childhood cancer. My nose may turn up as other coffee drinkers fail to share my passion for “fair-trade” java. Still, I am persuaded that Paul’s message should challenge the saturation of individualistic striving (both the callous and the self-righteous blends). Our challenge to proclaim the gospel equips us with a cohesive force that says, “I am because we are.” (see Blount) I believe it is through a commitment to community that we receive our reward of further opportunities to give.
Works Referenced
Brian K. Blount, ed., True To Our Native Land An African American New Testament Commentary (Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2007), 291.
Hans Conzelmann, A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, ed. George W. MacRae, S.J. (Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1975), 158.
Judith L. Kovacs, ed., 1 Corinthians Interpreted by Early Christian Commentators (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2005), 155.
Biographical Information
After graduating from Davidson College, Burton was offered a scholarship to attend Union-PSCE and is already active on campus as a first year student. Before coming to Richmond, he taught in Brooklyn, New York. Burton hails from East Orange, New Jersey.
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