Paul is a man of integrity. Are you? Am I?

Sometimes I question whether we’re more American than Christian. Would you be willing to lay down your rights for the betterment of others?

This is what Paul is doing. While he has the right to ask the Corinthians for money, he won’t. He wants to be so far above any question of his motives and intentions that he avoids what he deserves to maintain a better standing. Would we be willing or able to do this?

Ironically, Christians are so “in power” in the US that we can’t even see at times how or why others would feel differently. We use our rights to stand tall and claim persecution. What if our goal was evangelism rather than freedom? What if our goals saved lives rather than wasted resources? We spend billions annually to attempt ending a perceived war on Christmas when we could be using that money to translate Gospel-centered materials into Arabic or sending missionaries to Syria. Just think about it. Or are we spending money on a building that could go towards loving our neighbor well?

Paul wants to run the race well. He’s willing to forgo what he is DUE in order to reach more. I wish I had an attitude more like this.