Sayings, quotes, and proverbs have a way of distilling life for us and simplifying complexity. When I was younger, I would often overhear someone asking about another person, perhaps for a recommendation, or if they could be trusted in regard to a contract or deal they were considering. If the person had a reputation for being a trustworthy business associate, employee, or even a friend, a very common phrase was, "You can count on them through thick and thin." It makes sense in nearly any setting.When the apostle Paul learned of a famine that was ravaging his home country, Israel, he was on a mission trip encompassing modern-day Turkey and Greece. He was particularly active in the region surrounding the Aegean Sea. This region produced the most pervasive culture of ancient history, the Greeks, who were led to their greatest expanse by the Macedonian conqueror, Alexander the Great.
The cities of northern Greece, from the Macedonian region, included Philippi and Thessalonica. In the central and southern regions you had Athens and Corinth. Churches had been planted in all these cities. Like today, the economy was not well balanced. The churches in the north (Macedonia) were struggling with extreme poverty (2 Corinthians 8:1-4). The cities and churches in the south (Corinth for example) were comfortable, even affluent.
When Paul first reached out to them to help the poor in Jerusalem and Israel, the Corinthian church was the first to join the effort and they made great promises toward the effort. When the churches in Macedonia heard of the Corinthian’s generosity, they were so moved that they begged Paul to let them join the effort. Bear in mind that these people were immersed in their own poverty when they joined the generosity movement.
Things moved much slower then, so the contribution for the poor, including announcing the need in various churches, moving on to other regions, coming back and collecting the money, and delivering it to the poor in Jerusalem could take more than a year!
So after Paul was completely blown away by the response of the poor in Macedonia, he returned to Corinth to get their previously promised big gift. But he found them waffling. Even though they had promised much, they became distracted by their own wants and needs. It had been a year since they made their commitment, and now they were apparently contemplating not following through. They were leaning toward the excuse, "Hey, things changed over the last year and we are not sure we can help like we said we would."
Carefully read 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 with this background in mind. Paul is gentle but very firm. He is quick to remind them that the Macedonian Christians don't even know how they are going to make it financially, but they have thrown themselves completely into the generosity movement. Then Paul reminds the Corinthians that it was actually them that inspired the Macedonians. He follows this with several examples of how we are to keep our commitment through thick and thin, and that God will abundantly provide all we will ever need AND give us enough to be generous toward others.
The real spiritual "punch-to-the-gut" is when Paul lets the Corinthians know (2 Corinthians 9:1-4) that he is actually bringing some of the Macedonian Christians with him when he returns to Corinth!! And the last thing they would want is to be making excuses about why they can't follow through on their promised generosity when it was them that spurred the poverty-stricken Macedonians to empty their pockets and purses to help the poor!
Wow. Talk about getting "called out." Paul pulls no punches. The People of God are People of Faith. We keep our word through thick and thin, and then trust God to get us through. I often reflect on four passages when I am struggling with faithfulness to God in my generosity:
1. Deuteronomy 8
2. Proverbs 30:7-9
3. Matthew 6:25-34
4. 1 Timothy 6:6-10 and 17-19
- Don McLaughlin
