2 Corinthians 13:7-14: in context

As Paul closes this letter to a church that has given him a great deal of grief, some of whom have openly questioned his authority, he prays for them, and the shape of his prayer is remarkable. I pray to God that you may not do wrong, he writes, not that we may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may seem to have failed. Read that carefully. Paul is saying he wants them to do good so badly that he is willing for it to make him look like a failure. If their doing right somehow made his ministry appear unsuccessful, or robbed him of the vindication of being proved correct, he would gladly accept that, as long as they actually did what was good.

That is love with the self taken out of it. He goes further: we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong; our prayer is for your restoration. Paul's joy is not tied to his own reputation, his own being proved right, his own coming out looking strong. It is tied entirely to their good. He would rather they flourish and he seem weak than the reverse. Most of the time, our care for others is quietly entangled with ourselves, we want them to do well partly because it reflects well on us, and we want to be seen as the one who was right. Paul cuts that cord. He genuinely wants their good even at the cost of his own standing.

That exposes the mixed motives in my own concern for people. When I want someone to succeed, to change, to do the right thing, is it purely for their sake, or is part of it about how it reflects on me, whether I get the credit, whether I am proved right? Paul was glad to look weak if they were strong. Could I want someone's good so purely that I would rejoice in it even if it made me look like the failure, or is my care for others always quietly keeping one eye on myself?