Transparency

Meditations on Second Corinthians

May 10, 2023

Transparency

We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable.

2 Corinthians 8:20-21

Read: 2 Corinthians8:16-24

Paul concludes chapter 8 with seemingly mundane details about those traveling with him. What caught my attention was the lengths Paul went to be fully transparent before the church. This openness has been lost in the prevailing culture of our times, as well as in some churches.

Before I retired, I served on a committee that interviewed and approved candidates for the ordained ministry. Occasionally we would have immigrants from Cuba seeking to serve as pastors in the local church. In Cuba, the only model for government they had was the national dictatorship, and thus the local churches were more like an oligarchy with little, if any, laity input. (Even so, the Methodist Churches I visited in Cuba were full of love and were doing a mighty work for the Kingdom of God.) The Cuban pastors seeking to make the transition to the American culture had a difficult task as the American churches were led cooperatively with clergy and laity.

My Takeaway: Paul’s transparency before the church in Corinth is a reminder to me that I need to be open, and vulnerable, before my church and Christian friends.

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.