Reading: 2 Corinthians 9-10, Psalm 3
When I was a freshman in high school I was introduced to the concept of ROI, or return on investment. While I did not immediately begin speading my money wisely, the concept made immediate sense to me, and I started to see how most of the choices people around me were making were somehow connected to ROI. What do you get for your money, time, resources, even thoughts? The answer determines how you choose to use those things. This is not to say everyone makes what we might call “good” choices, but they are generally looking to get something out out of them, good or bad.
Usually ROI is applied to money. What can I get back from my investment? But it also works for time. What will I gain for the time I spend? Generally, investment of any resource follows an upward curve. The more you put in, the more you get out. This is not always true, and often rates diminish, but it will serve for the analogy I’m about to make.
Paul addresses ROI with the Corinthian church. He has told them to be generous, but understands that as citizens of Corinth, a trade center in the ancient word, they will want to know what they will get back for their investment. Now, here is where Paul is very clever. He does not say, as we might be tempted to, that they should not be concerned about their own gain from being generous. Infact, he kind of flips that narrative on its head, instead saying they must understand that God will in fact reward their generosity. But now it gets tricky. Paul never says that what they will receive is wealth, in any form. Remember back to what Paul has been bragging about having an abundance of? Suffering. Trials. Difficulty. These are creating for us an eternal weight of glory. God is at work I suffering, he will be equally at work in generosity. This has to be read carefully because the people Paul is writing this letter to oppose appear to be proclaiming a kind of prosperity gospel. Suffering is a sign of God’s disfavor. Service to God should bring about a pleasure and wealth. God loves a cheerful giver, but to create a new heart, not to gain external wealth or status. God’s idea of ROI is different.
It is on this basis that Paul reaffirms his authority to correct the behavior of the Corinthians. Paul puts his own actions and words in the context of God’s work in the Corinthian’s hearts. He will make arguments based not on worldly concerns, but eternal ones. He will writes painful letters all day long if it brings people to repentance. He will come in person and tell the Corinthians exactly what they need to hear for the sake of God’s idea of ROI. He will base his authority on the fruitfulness of his work in the heart, not it’s affect on the pocketbook.