“And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.” -2 Corinthians 12:15
In America, we live in a consumer minded culture. If you are currently breathing, then it is likely there is a product or service being pushed at you. The idea is to get us to buy and to buy now. Whether we care to admit it or not, culture influences Christians oftentimes more than Christian’s influence culture. This is counterproductive to the kingdom of God, especially when it’s a consumption culture. God calls us to contribute. We are to spend and be spent, not for ourselves, but for others.
The Apostle Paul’s mentality towards the Corinthian church holds a dramatic contrast to the consumption culture we find ourselves in today. Paul was adamant about not taking anything from the church at Corinth. He even defended himself in one place saying: “If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.” (1 Cor 9:12) He did not want anyone or anybody to have the slightest notion that he was there for any other reason than to preach the Gospel. It seems to me that other preachers must have picked up on this and began sowing discord at Corinth, causing them to believe that Paul had robbed them of the chance to perform a virtuous act of giving. I imagine those same people were happy to be the ones to receive the “gifts” in Paul’s place. In response to this, Paul lays out a beautiful argument both affirming his position and illuminating their vanity by saying: “for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.” (2 Cor 12:14) In this we see the two sides taken. The false teachers saying that it is good to take from your congregation, and Paul saying that it is better to contribute than consume. That he will gladly spend and be spent for the children in Christ he loves so dearly. In doing so, he not only shows the love of Christ to these people, but he lays on record a wonderful example to all who would follow. Today we stand in this generation amidst many false teachers who would lead us to believe that consumption is better than contribution. In contrast, we have the example of Paul following the example of Christ; he was a contributor and not just a consumer. How can we effectively serve the lost if we are consistently looking to serve ourselves? Paul understood this and he set the example. In the last chapter of the book of second Corinthians Paul writes “examine yourselves.” We must each examine ourselves and ask ourselves: are we a consumer or a contributor? Do we go to church to take what they have to give; or to give so others make take? We must leave off thinking what can the church do for me, and begin to ask; what can I do for the Church? This can mean both the local church you attend, and the global Church whose membership is written in heaven. If eighty percent of your church is in a consumption mindset, then that eighty percent will exhaust the other twenty percent who are in a contributing mindset. However, if one hundred percent of the church is in a contributing mindset; then you will not only encourage one another, but it will overflow to reach those who are without.
It takes effort to reach the lost. Jesus was the Son of God, and His ministry was not without effort. If we are to reach the lost, those who are without hope, without love, without Jesus; those who need the gospel. Inviting in and partaking of the culture of consumption is not the way. For their sake and our own, we must leave off consumption and gladly contribute.
