1 Corinthians 4:14-21: a reflection

14I don’t write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15For though you have ten thousand tutors in Christ, you don’t have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Good News. 16I beg you therefore, be imitators of me. 17Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every assembly. 18Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. 19But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing. And I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. 20For God’s Kingdom is not in word, but in power. 21What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

When Paul corrects the Corinthians, he is careful to make clear the love behind his correction: he writes not to shame them but to admonish them as his beloved children. I don't write these things to shame you, he says, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Paul's correction flows not from harshness or a desire to shame, but from a father's love; he corrects them as a loving father corrects his children, for their good. His admonishing is an act of love, not condemnation. This shows the spirit in which correction should be given and received: as an act of love for the other's good. Paul corrected the Corinthians as a loving father, not to shame. True correction flows from love, for the other's good. Loving correction seeks the good of the one corrected. Paul admonished as a father who loved them.

Notice the spirit of Paul's correction: fatherly love. He does not correct the Corinthians to shame them, to put them down, or to vent frustration; he corrects them as his beloved children, out of the love of one who had become their father in the faith through the gospel. His admonishing is for their good, an expression of genuine care, not condemnation. This teaches us something about correction, both giving and receiving it. When we must correct others, it should flow from love and seek their good, not from a desire to shame or dominate; correction given in love, as a loving parent corrects a child, is very different from correction given in harshness or contempt. And when we are corrected, we do well to remember that correction from those who love us, aimed at our good, is a gift, not an attack. Loving correction, given and received rightly, is an act of care. Correct others in love, for their good, not to shame them. Receive loving correction as a gift, not an attack. True correction is an expression of love, seeking the other's good.

That is worth taking to heart, for correction should flow from love and seek the other's good, as Paul corrected the Corinthians not to shame them but as his beloved children. We can correct others harshly, to shame or dominate, or resent all correction as an attack; but Paul admonished the Corinthians out of a father's love, for their good. Correction given and received in love is an act of care. When you must correct others, do it in love, for their good; and when you are corrected in love, receive it as a gift. Give correction in love and for the other's good rather than to shame, and receive loving correction as a gift rather than an attack, as Paul told the Corinthians he wrote not to shame them but to admonish them as his beloved children, having become their father in Christ through the gospel; for we can correct others harshly, out of a desire to shame or dominate or vent frustration, and can resent all correction as an attack, but true correction flows from love and seeks the good of the one corrected, as a loving parent corrects a child, so that correction given in love is very different from correction given in harshness or contempt, and correction from those who love us, aimed at our good, is a gift rather than an attack, which we do well both to give and to receive rightly.

Lord, when Paul corrects the Corinthians, he is careful to make clear the love behind his correction: he writes not to shame them but to admonish them as his beloved children. I don't write these things to shame you, he says, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Paul's correction flows not from harshness or a desire to shame, but from a father's love; he corrects them as a loving father corrects his children, for their good. His admonishing is an act of love, not condemnation. This shows the spirit in which correction should be given and received: as an act of love for the other's good. Show me the spirit of Paul's correction: fatherly love. He does not correct the Corinthians to shame them, to put them down, or to vent frustration; he corrects them as his beloved children, out of the love of one who had become their father in the faith. His admonishing is for their good, an expression of genuine care, not condemnation. This teaches me something about correction, both giving and receiving it. When I must correct others, it should flow from love and seek their good, not from a desire to shame or dominate. And when I am corrected, I do well to remember that correction from those who love me, aimed at my good, is a gift, not an attack. Take that to my heart, for correction should flow from love and seek the other's good. When I must correct others, help me do it in love, for their good, not to shame them; and when I am corrected in love, help me receive it as a gift rather than an attack, Lord, remembering how Paul admonished the Corinthians as his beloved children, out of a father's love and for their good.