Living Considerately

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

LIVING CONSIDERATELY

2 Cor 7:2-4

2 Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. 4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.

NIV

Paul makes it clear how he feels about these people. He also wants them to know how sincere he is about them and his ministry among them. We must ask ourselves some of these questions. The first is whether we can say if we have wronged no one. To live a life without ever wronging another person would be difficult. Sometimes we make mistakes and maybe innocently wrong someone without knowing. Some people get their feelings hurt easily and it would not be too difficult to wrong them. There must have been some people like that in Corinth and yet Paul is confident that he never wronged any of them. This would take living intentionally, with a consistent awareness of our words and actions to have that same confidence that Paul had. He also makes sure that he did not corrupt anyone. The Greek word translated as corrupt has the direct meaning to shrivel, wither or spoil. In the context used it would carry the meaning to ruin by moral influences, to deprave. This would require living in such a manner that we are an example of Christ, as is, the morality of Christ, the goodness and love toward others, as he taught nothing but the truth of God. There is a whole lot of erroneous theology floating around within the world, as well as in the community of faith. There are several flamboyant personalities who have gathered a large crowd of followers, but their theology is flawed, and they have corrupted many. We have to live with the awareness of any influences we may have on others and insure what we say and do is consistent with the truth. Granted it would seem many people have their own view of what the truth is, which is evident in the fact there are so many denominations. Nevertheless, we cannot corrupt another soul and we must always be cognizant of our words and actions. This simply requires living being considerately.