1 Corinthians 9:13-18: a reflection

13Don’t you know that those who serve around sacred things eat from the things of the temple, and those who wait on the altar have their portion with the altar? 14Even so the Lord ordained that those who proclaim the Good News should live from the Good News. 15But I have used none of these things, and I don’t write these things that it may be done so in my case; for I would rather die, than that anyone should make my boasting void. 16For if I preach the Good News, I have nothing to boast about, for necessity is laid on me; but woe is to me if I don’t preach the Good News. 17For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward. But if not of my own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. 18What then is my reward? That when I preach the Good News, I may present the Good News of Christ without charge, so as not to abuse my authority in the Good News.

Paul makes a clear case that he has every right to be financially supported for his ministry, just as those who served in the temple lived from the temple, and the Lord commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from it. The right is real and legitimate. And then Paul says something striking: I have made no use of any of these rights. He had a genuine entitlement, and he willingly gave it up, choosing to preach the gospel free of charge so that no one could accuse him of preaching for money.

Notice what Paul does. He does not deny his right; he affirms it clearly. But he chooses, freely, to forgo it, to give up something he was fully entitled to, for the sake of the gospel and those he served. His concern was not to claim every right that was his, but to remove any obstacle to the gospel, even at personal cost. He was willing to surrender a legitimate entitlement for a higher purpose.

That is a countercultural example in a world preoccupied with insisting on our rights. Paul shows that there is a freedom, and sometimes a higher calling, in willingly giving up a right we genuinely have, for the sake of others or of the gospel. Not every right must be claimed; sometimes love and a greater purpose call us to forgo what we are entitled to. Are there rights you cling to that you might, for the sake of others or a higher good, willingly give up? Paul's example commends the freedom to surrender even legitimate rights, not because we have to, but for the sake of the gospel and the good of others.

Lord, Paul had a genuine right to be supported, and willingly gave it up for the sake of the gospel and those he served, removing any obstacle to your good news. In a world preoccupied with insisting on rights, give me that freedom. Show me where I might, for the sake of others or a higher good, willingly forgo a right I genuinely have. Help me hold my entitlements loosely, willing to surrender them not because I must, but out of love and for the sake of your gospel. Free me to give up my rights for others' good.