Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. – 2 Corinthians 7:2

Today's Scripture Reading (March 24, 2021): 2 Corinthians 7

Mary Ann Evans, who wrote under the pen name of George Eliot, writes in "Middlemarch" that "people are almost always better than their neighbors think they are." The problem is that when we judge or slander someone else, what we are saying is often more about us than it is about the other person. And whoever it is that chronically complains about someone else is likely to be soon complaining about you to anyone who will listen.

Paul has been the victim of slanderous gossip, spoken against him by his enemies to influence the Corinthians. And, at least to a point, the Corinthians had believed the accusations. But Paul reminds them that they know him; they know his actions. If they were honest with themselves, they would recognize that what others said about Paul was filled with lies and misstatements. The stories they were telling revealed more about the character of Paul's critics than it revealed about Paul.

Paul argues that he has wronged no one. Where Paul's critics were wronging Paul with their slander, Paul had only defended himself. He had presented Jesus to the Corinthians, never trying to complain and bring down what others might have described as his competition. Paul believed that the Christian community was one body, and there was no room or excuse for any division.

Paul had not corrupted anyone. He had not acted dishonestly in any way. Paul had not tried to bribe any leaders, and he had not acted, in any way, against the teaching that he had presented. He had not accepted money in return for power or taken advantage of anyone in Corinth. His critics' accusations had missed the mark, and the Corinthians should have understood that reality.

Paul had not exploited anyone. He was not trying to get rich by tricking the Corinthians to give him money. Unlike other itinerant religious teachers, Paul had not charged the Corinthians for his words, preferring to work as a tentmaker to support his needs. He had collected money from the Corinthians, but all of the money that had been donated was going to the poor Christians who were in need of significant help in Judea and not to exploit the Corinthians.

And so, he asks the Corinthians to make room in their hearts for him. His critics wanted to exclude him, but the Corinthians knew, in their heart where it was the most important, that Paul had done nothing wrong. They could trust Paul, and that trust would be essential if Paul were going to continue to have an influence on the continuing development of the Corinthian Church.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 8 & 9