2 Corinthians 11:27-29 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
Verse 27 opens with a hint of Paul’s hard work in ministry. The context of the following verses suggests that “labored and toiled” refers not simply to hard physical labor but also mental stress. Paul often went without sleep. He gives no reason why here, but most people can imagine the types of things that cause sleepless nights: worry about a situation, physical discomfort such as sleeping on the ground, sickness, or hunger. The next several clauses may give hints of the cause of this sleeplessness.
Paul experienced the physical hardship of depravity. He did not always have food and water. This is hard for some people in developed countries to imagine but is a daily experience for many people in the World today. Few pastors are wealthy or even well compensated for their ministry work. Many pastors sacrifice much to be in the ministry. I am thankful that we have never been in need but God has always supplied for our needs.
Another challenge for him was not have warm clothing and sometimes note even adequate clothing. He traveled to some places that were cold, such as the areas of Galatia. In 2 Timothy 4:13, Paul asks Timothy to send him his cloak. Being in prison was not a pleasant experience with likely no heat source. He lacked at times even simple things to make life livable. In our modern settings, we may have a hard time imagining the challenges of the earliest Christian missionaries like Paul and his companions.
Another area of challenge for Paul was the mental and spiritual stress he experienced in his ministry with the churches. Sometimes this type of stress is even more significant than physical lack. Anyone who has been in ministry, especially in charge of a ministry like a pastor, know exactly what Paul means in v. 28. Pastors are concerned about many things. They love the people and hurt to some degree when they hurt. Also, pastors put a lot effort into the spiritual growth of the people. When people are slow to respond to preaching and teaching, it creates significant discouragement with the pastor. I am sure that Paul faced a lot of discouragement when he had to deal with churches like the Corinthians who were slow to catch on to his message and even listened to wrong teaching. The closing chapters of this letter, such as this one, reveal his frustration with them. Paul also carried the heavy load of caring for “all the churches.” He had a lot to keep track of and was the key leader of many people and situations. This was all beyond his abilities, and so he relied on the grace of Christ. There are many other things that can cause a pastor to be concerned about the well-being of a church.
Paul knew he could not do all that he needed to do by relying on his own strength. He was weak in himself. The last phrase of v. 29 can be a challenging one for some traditions to accept, especially in light of what Paul writes in other letters. He reaches the height of his transparency. Even Paul, the great apostle, had to deal with temptation and sin. As long as we are in this world, we cannot escape the pull of sin and self. That does not mean these have to control us, as Paul writes in Romans 6. We have a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). We are not left on our own. If we try to overcome sin on our own, we will end up defeated, discouraged, and dominated by sin. God gives us the Holy Spirit to overcome the pull of the flesh. That is Paul’s key message in Romans 8. There is no such thing as “sinless perfection” in this world. What we can experience is freedom in Christ from sin’s control. We can be guided by the Holy Spirit who will fill us with the will power to overcome temptation and remind us of the teachings of and about Jesus. The Spirit will teach us the “mind of Christ.” The Corinthians should know this already. This was at the heart of Paul’s preaching.
For older posts, click here.