I recently watched the movie, "Air Force One." What a thriller! At one
point, the president of the United States bargains with a hijacker for
the lives of his wife and daughter. The sitution appears to be
resolved. But then the terrorist says, "Did you think you could trust
me? I lied."
Trust. That seems to be an issue in today's reading. For the Christians
in Jerusalem, life was especially tough. Persecuted as followers of
Jesus, they needed financial help. Paul and Titus have been encouraging
churches in Greece to contribute to their destitute brothers and
sisters.
However, as William Barclay writes, "Paul knew he had his enemies and
his critics. He knew well that there would be those who would not
hesitate to charge him with turning part of the collection to his own
use, and so he takes steps to see that it would be impossible to level
that charge against him by ensuring that others will share with him the
task of taking the collection to Jerusalem... It was Paul's aim to make
clear not only to God but also to men that he was above suspicion."
Verse 21 tells me that sometimes it's not enough to know in my heart -
"before the Lord" - that I'm doing right. I may need to take steps so
that I don't even give the appearance of doing wrong. Paul wrote in
Romans 12:17 (NLT), "Do things in such a way that everyone can see you
are honorable."
Perhaps I'm too cynical, but I wonder what had been happening among the
Corinthian believers. Earlier, the plan had been to have that church
choose messengers to deliver the gift. Perhaps Paul would accompany
them. (See 1 Cor. 16:3,4.) Now, it seems that Titus, along with two men
held in high regard and sent by other churches, will keep watch as
well, as the collection is delivered. Does anybody trust anybody?
I'm reminded of Jesus' words, "Look, I am sending you out as sheep
among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves,"
(Matthew 10:16 NLT). It's too bad that we sometimes need to be shrewd
even among believers.
May the Spirit of Grace and Truth so permeate our church family that
trust need not be an issue.
Deetje Wildes
1 comment:
Amen!
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