Sun 9:30a Class; 10:30a Worship; 11:35a Communion
Bible Bites
An Honorable Appearance
“for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” (2 Corinthians 8:21)
When funds were gathered to meet the needs of the starving saints in Judea, Paul understood that the deliverance of such a large sum of money as had been collected needed to be done wisely. The risk of theft or even the appearance of theft had the potential to taint the entire charitable endeavor. He accomplished this task of doing what was honorable in the sight of God and man through two primary things.
Firstly, Paul refused to take the money himself – each church was to be in charge of their own gift at all times. Each congregation was to choose their own messengers and entrust whomever they felt best to carry the gift (see 1 Corinthians 16:3). This principle is to be applied today, too. Each congregation is autonomous – there is no need to pool our funds and delegate our local autonomy to some third-party organization.
Secondly, Paul also did not travel alone with this gift. There were multiple eyes at all times traveling with Paul as the money made its way to Jerusalem (see 2 Corinthians 8:19). Multiple people meant multiple witnesses and protection. It is the same reason many congregations have the weekly contribution counted by two people – redundancy protects everyone’s reputation.
In short, Paul wasn’t just honest; he thought about making sure he appeared honest. The appearance of evil is a perception that can be just as dangerous to the reputation of the gospel as anything else.
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
