Living Together

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

LIVING TOGETHER

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

Having considered wronging no one and corrupting no one, we should also ponder on the concept of exploiting no one. The Greek word translated as exploited carries the meaning of taking advantage of someone. If Paul had exploited them, it would have been him gaining in some way by thanking advantage if their newness in Christ. This might relate in some way to those flamboyant false teacher/preacher types that exploit the gullible for their personal gain of living large. We have seen firsthand this manipulation of large crowds of unsuspecting believers to garner huge offerings meant as an offering to God but used for the personal lifestyle of the false preacher. We must ensure that we do not exploit anyone for our personal gain. It would seem this could not ever be possible as we would have to be in a position of some influence. Still, is it possible that we could take advantage of others in some way? In order to do this, we would have to be fairly self-centered, always thinking about how we can achieve our goals or ambitions and if need by using someone for that purpose. It would have to go against the idea of servicing one another for us to exploit others. We would have to think more highly of ourselves than we should, and in fact, think we are better than others in some way. Therefore, it would appear we are in no danger of exploiting anyone, for if anything we have somewhat of an inferiority complex, speaking in a personal way. Now as far as the rest of what Paul says it is clear as to the attitude, we are to have with each other. We cannot condemn anyone but always should have room in our hearts for everyone so that we would desire to either live or die with them. There is also this idea of having confidence in others, believing they will do the right thing, of course, that is not our right thing, but that which God desires them to do. The right thing is always obeying the word of the Lord. What having confidence in others accomplishes is eliminating judgment or being critical of them, and again, that comes from thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. If we are living in a manner that pleases God then we would take pride in the way others are living to please God, for if we are doing that which we should, such as building each other up until we all reach the unity in the faith, and encourage one another, admonishing each other, then we would be able to take pride in how the whole body of Christ is serving one another, each doing their part in the body, with Christ being our head. We can be encouraged by how others are living for Christ. All this comes down to how we see ourselves in relationship to the body of Christ, and understanding that we all live together.