“Not Seeking My Own Profit”


BIBLE READING:1 Corinthians 10

As the Apostle Paul was judged, not only for what he said but what he did, we also have to be cautious about words and deeds.  To Paul's credit, he was willing to accept that responsibility.  Throughout chapter 9, we see him appeal to his own example.  He argued that insistence on one's rights is not a top priority for Christians.  He even dared to say to the Corinthians, “I beseech you therefore, be ye imitators of me" (1Co 4:16 ASV). 
It is reasonable for those who hear the gospel to expect their teachers to take it seriously in their own lives.  The effectiveness of every preacher will, to some degree, be measured by his ability to state that he is not seeking his own profit but the profit of the many, so they may be saved. 
We see how this one passion ruled Paul's behavior in all things.  He was willing to yield to men in matters where only his own comfort, but not his conscience, was concerned.  He sought to please all men in all things; not seeking his own profit but the profit of others.
In order to argue his case that Christians should forgo rights because of concern for others, Paul appealed to a general truth.  Everything that may be allowable, or that can be defended based on a technicality, may not result in the edification of hearers.  While society's line between the allowable and the inappropriate often shifts, each Christian should make distinctions with the good of others in mind.

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