All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. [2 Corinthians 4:15 NIV]
"All this is for your benefit." Paul is not self-centred or egotistical. He does not just think about himself. He sees the suffering he is enduring from the perspective of the blessings it brings to other people. This is what is known as altruism - doing things for the benefit of others. It is the natural inclination to think of ourselves first. We want to make sure that we are comfortable and well looked after. We want to be popular with other people and for others to hold us in high esteem. Paul goes against the cultural values of our 21st century society in his desire to serve others. Again, he is following the example of Jesus who took the place of the servant in order that we could become members of God's family. When Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, he was setting a clear example of humble service on behalf of others. He was prepared to do a menial task usually performed by a slave to show that he was prepared to take the lowly place in order to benefit others. This is a real challenge to myself - am I prepared to serve others or am I dominated by self-interest? In our modern society, many acts of charity and altruism are carried out by people who are really trying to boost their own reputation. It looks good if a celebrity is involved in charity work as there are many photo opportunities and maybe even financial incentives. There is no doubt that this will enhance their reputation and standing in society. This was not true of Jesus. Here is Eugene Peterson's version of a well-known New Testament passage.
Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion. [Philippians 2: 3-8 MSG]
So, in what way would others benefit from Paul's sufferings. He explains in the remainder of the verse how his sufferings - though dreadful and degrading are leading to blessings for others. Because Paul was continuing to preach the Gospel even though he was being persecuted, more and more people were coming to know Jesus as Messiah and Lord. God's grace was reaching out to more and more people and this was a cause for thanksgiving. Christians love to hear of others coming to faith in Jesus. It is even more exciting if it is someone you know well and have prayed for maybe a long time.
Paul talks about an abundance of thanksgiving. It can be translated as superabounding or to having more than enough and to spare. Is it not true that we are often miserly in our thanksgiving. We have so much to complain about that we forget to start our prayers with thanksgiving. Do our prayers really overflow with thanksgiving? Sadly some prayer meetings can become quite depressing as the list of people who are ill or bereaved grows very long. We do need to pray for those in the church who are suffering but we also should start off with praise and thanksgiving. Notice that God gets the glory from this abundance of thanksgiving. Are we denying God the glory He rightly deserves?
Picture by Pro Church Media on Unsplash.
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