Paul's Inferiority Complex

One of the things I have never understood about Paul is his inferiority complex. 

2 Corinthians 12:11-13(NKJV)

11I have become a fool £in boasting; you have compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing. 

12Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds. 

13For what is it in which you were inferior to other churches, except that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong!

Paul quite often seems to be comparing himself to the original Apostles.  As if he somehow sees himself as less than them.  Where do you think that comes from?  After all, Jesus personally visited Paul and converted him.  Paul was personally chosen by Jesus.  There is no doubt in Paul's mind about that. 

Here is my guess.  Guilt.  Even though we know intellectually that we are saved and forgiven, a lot of people have a real hard time of letting go of the guilt of the past.  My guess is that maybe there was some of that for Paul.  After all, he had a lot to feel guilty about.

So how do we get over that?  Once you are aware of it, talk to Jesus about it.  He'll help you!

Cornerstone verses!

Love my time with the Word.  Sometimes I get very little out of a reading.  But some days it seems like the whole thing was written just for me.  Today was one of those days.  I think I got somewhere around 6 new things to write about in the coming days.  Very cool.

Now on to the verse that spoke loudest to me today. 

2 Corinthians 12:9(NKJV)

9And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

I don't know about you but there are a few select verses that really shape my overall belief in and understanding of God.  This is one of those verses. 

Before I explain why this verse is important to me let me talk about another one to set the stage.

I'm not going to bother to look it up but it is where God asks Solomon what he wants.  Solomon asks for wisdom and knowledge so he can be a good King.  Because he asked for that instead of wealth and glory, God gave him wisdom and knowledge as well as wealth and glory. 

I have always admired that and tried to follow it in my prayer life.  That is why I have such a hard time asking for things specifically for me when I pray, even though Scripture in places tells us we should pray for specific things.  I just keep praying for wisdom and knowledge and guidance.  

The second reason I have a hard time praying for specific things in my prayer life is that Scripture tells us that God has a plan for our lives and already knows what we need.  In fact Scripture tells us that God will equip us to achieve every good work that He has planned for our lives. 

Because of that I tend to defer to God's judgment of what I need.  He's got it all under control.  I trust Him.  Much of my prayer time is just spent say "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, for all that you already do for me.   Please let me know what else you want me to do for you!"

Which brings me to the verse above.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

That verse makes it hard for me to pray for relief from medical issues (not that I am suffering from anything really big right now or anything). 

Let me give an example.  I got my right eye shot out with a BB gun when I was in the 5th grade, 11 years old.  I have been blind in my right eye since then.  A lot of people thought it was a really tragic thing to have happen.  To me it just wasn't that big of a deal.  God's grace more than makes up for the missing eye. 

So as I age and start to experience things like parts of my body hurting for no reason, I try to just take it in stride.  I just trust that God has it all under control. 

I don't ask Him to take away this issue or that issue.  He knows what I need already.  He knows what needs to be healed so that I can continue to fulfill His plan for my life and He also knows what He can let slide.  After all, He doesn't need me to live forever. 

His grace can again overcome any weakness that my body may be experiencing.  I don't need to whine to Him about it.  Does that make sense?

As I mentioned above, I realize that there are plenty of other Scriptures that I can point to that tell me to ask for specific things, or to ask for healing.  However for my particular walk with God, these are the Scriptures that hold more sway with me.

Paul, the little old Jewish mother! :)

I may have written about this before but it still strikes me as funny.  To me Paul sounds like the stereotypical little old Jewish mother.  What I mean by that is the whole laying on the guilt trip thing. 

I think a good reference of what I am talking about from current culture would be the show Big Bang Theory.  Wolowitz lives with his Mom and she will do that to him many times.  The whole "look at all I do for you and all I gave up, etc".  

It just makes me chuckle to think of St. Paul like that.  :)

2 Corinthians 11:22-29(NKJV)

22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. 

23Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. 

24From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 

25Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 

26in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 

27in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—

28besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. 

29Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?

The Generosity Boomerang

2 Corinthians 9:6-8(NKJV)

6But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 

7So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 

8And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 

I've always loved these verses.  Let me summarize.

Give generously, give cheerfully! 

That's it.  Give generously of all things.  Your time, your talents, and your treasures.  Give with a spirit of joy!  Not grudgingly as in fulfilling a duty but joyfully because it is fun.
 

Why should we do this? 

8And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 

Because God in turn will be just as generous with us. 

The Generosity Boomerang!

I Very Rarely Do This

I very rarely post an entire chapter but Psalm 15 is short and informative.

Psalms 15:1-5(NKJV)

1    Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?      Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

In other words, Hey God, can I hang out with you?  What do I need to do to qualify to hang out with you?

2    He who walks uprightly,      And works righteousness,     And speaks the truth in his heart;

3    He who does not backbite with his tongue,      Nor does evil to his neighbor,     Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;

4    In whose eyes a vile person is despised,      But he honors those who fear the Lord;      He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

5    He who does not put out his money at usury,      Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.      He who does these things shall never be moved.

Don't you love it when God lays things out and makes them simple?  Notice that I highlighted one of the answers in green?  I wanted to touch on that one for a minute. 

Want to know if someone is a Godly person, someone that God would want to hang out with?  Pay attention to how they treat believers.  They may seem spiritual and all but if they don't honor others who believe, beware. 

All of the things listed above are nice, good suggestions on how we should live our lives.  But there is one over riding requirement today that didn't exist when Psalms was written.  You have to believe in God's son Jesus Christ.

Only by accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior do you get to hang out with God for eternity.  Only by asking Jesus to take over and guide your life do you get to build that relationship with God that entitles you to eternal fellowship with Him.

Have you done that yet?  Why not do it right now?  Just have a conversation with Jesus.  Let Him know where you are at in life, what you are looking for.  Just have a conversation with Jesus.  "Dear Jesus…."

Differences in Approach

Let's do a little contrast and compare between King David and Paul.

First King David. 

Psalms 13:1-2(NKJV)

1    How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?      How long will You hide Your face from me?

2    How long shall I take counsel in my soul,     Having sorrow in my heart daily?     How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Psalms 13:5-6(NKJV)

5    But I have trusted in Your mercy;      My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

6    I will sing to the Lord,      Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Here King David starts off with the old woe is me, God has forgotten all about me pity party.  Then along about the 5 and 6th verses he seems to remind himself that God always comes through for him and he almost reluctantly acknowledges that.

That just seems like a lack of faith to me.  Either you believe that God will come through for you or you don't.  And you believe it in the toughest of times just as strongly as you believe it when things are going good.  I don't see that here.

Now let's compare that to Paul.

2 Corinthians 7:4(NKJV)

4Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.

Joyful in our tribulations?  Is he crazy?  Or is he following Scripture.  As many of you know, this is one of my favorite Scriptures. 

Romans 5:2-5(NKJV)

2through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

3And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 

4and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 

5Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Seems to me that Paul is showing much more faith because he doesn't have a pity party.  He is joyful in his tribulation.  He's saying bring it on, I've got God on my side and so no matter what you do to me I know that my God will prevail.

Now that is faith!

I Wonder About This

2 Corinthians 5:18-19(NKJV)

18Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 

19that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Scripture is clear that our ministry is to try and reconcile the lost to God.  How far away from the Word should we stray to accomplish that mission?

It just seems to me that there is a tendency to water down God's message to try and lure people into the church.  The strategy seems to be once we get them there we can slowly teach them the real truth.  At least that is the way it seems to me.

I look at some of the things the new Pope has said which seem to me to clearly go against Scripture.  I've seen other preachers do it as well.  They don't want to offend or drive people away so they give a sugar coated version of God.  They teach all about the love of God and totally ignore anything else that may be uncomfortable.  The over riding goal seems to be to get the people "plugged in" and then over time we can 'help them mature' in their faith.

I have to admit that even I am guilty of it.  When I offer the opportunity for people to accept Jesus in my writings I encourage them to have a conversation with Jesus, let Him know what they need.  I leave it up to them to find the right words. 

The problem is that I know this isn't Scripturally correct.  Scripture tells us that we need to believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is the Son of God, that He was crucified here on earth but the He was raised form the dead on the 3rd day and now sits at the right hand of God.

So why do I do it the other way?  Because it seems easier than explaining all the details to someone who is new for fear of overwhelming them.  But is it OK to do it that way?  Will they actually be saved?  Is Jesus or God going to be a stickler about the exact verbage or are they more interested in the fact that someone is inviting them in, no matter the exact words that they use? 

I like to believe that my God is flexible, understanding, and easy going  so that the intention is more important than the words.  But is it? 

That is what I wonder about.