In the first couple of verses, there are some things apparently going on in the original Greek that unlock some depth and meaning here. In the world of slavery, there were the slaves that did the lowest form of labor, which was essentially like grunt work. Then there were slaves that were basically in more of a management role, overseeing the work and directing the work so as to make sure things went smoothly for the master. In these lines, Paul is using that ‘master slave’ kind of word, to indicate to these readers that they were entrusted by God and empowered by God, but that they were also accountable to God at the same time. And, at the same time, Paul is addressing a very common tendency that these readers and this culture had, to be overly concerned about their worldly appearance. In another word, their ‘reputation’. This is as true of us today as it was of them then, that we care far too much about that as a culture. And lastly Paul tells the readers that He hasn’t spent any time considering himself, judging himself in that way, or caring about what the culture says of him.
For me, in reading this, the thing that I am going to think about throughout the day is this idea of reputation...of really letting go of what others think about me. For me, this isn’t an area where I have a tremendous struggle, but I would be foolish to think that I am immune to the influence of others’ opinions. I can learn from Paul here, and I can be inspired by his message to trust God for my identity, and to look at God to get my cues as to how I am doing.
Paul is a great example of someone living on-mission, and staying on-mission. He calls us to the mat on this - to be stewards of the blessings and the message that we’ve been given. It begs this question of us as we are making decisions in our daily lives, “For whose benefit, to further whose mission, am I making this decision, God’s or my own?”
Great reading this morning, and strong words from a great example to follow.