misunderstandings – Moment to Moment (Bible blog)

When others misunderstand and accuse us

As you read this letter, you start to see that Paul and the Corinthians had been having a really tough time in their relationship.

Apparently, some of the Corinthians had taken some of the things he had said in his earlier letter badly, and were now accusing him of being unreliable at best, and duplicitous and manipulative at worst.

One thing they had brought up was that he had said earlier that he would come to visit him, and at the last minute he canceled on them.

As a result, Paul ended up having to defend himself as to why he canceled the trip. The main reason appeared to be people who were opposing his leadership.

Many scholars believe that there was a “painful” visit between Paul’s writings of 1 and 2 Corinthians.

During that visit, people opposed him to his face and he had had to confront them concerning their sin, causing a massive rift between him and the Corinthian church.

Paul apparently knew that if he came back right away, it would probably lead to another blowup, as things had not been resolved yet, and so he sent another letter admonishing them, in hopes that they would repent.

In the end, the majority of them did (2 Corinthians 7:6-13).

But there were still those in the church who accused him of being either unreliable or two-faced and deceitful (2 Corinthians 1:17, 7:2).

How do we deal with people like that? People who refuse to understand us and accuse us of things that are totally untrue?

I think we see some answers in Paul’s response.

Paul writes,

Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God.

We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace. (2 Corinthians 1:12)

The most important thing that we can do is to keep a clear conscience before God. That when we are with these people, to deal with them with holiness and sincerity.

It’s a little unclear whether the word in verse 12 should be “holiness” or “integrity.” (The Greek translations for these two words are different by two letters, and some of the Greek manuscripts use one word and some the other).

But either way, our actions should be holy or pure. And they should be filled with integrity, not duplicity. And we are to be sincere.

No matter what others may accuse us of or how they treat us, we are to always live this way, and deal with them in this way.

On the other hand, we are not to deal with them with worldly wisdom. What is worldly wisdom?

James tells us, saying,

But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.

Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. (James 3:14-15)

Rather, we are to respond to them with the wisdom that flows from the grace of God. What is this wisdom like?

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. (James 3:17)

Paul showed that kind of wisdom. As a result, many of the Corinthians came to truly understand him.

To those who didn’t, he reassured them that there were no hidden meanings or agendas in his writings. And he expressed the hope that they too would come to understand that some day. (2 Corinthians 1:13-14)

But until that day, he would continue to live as he always had, with holiness, integrity, sincerity, and grace.

How about you? When others misunderstand you and accuse you, how do you respond?

Let us respond as Paul did, and live in holiness, with integrity, sincerity, and grace towards them.

Misunderstood

It’s interesting to me that while Paul was trying to clear up a misunderstanding between the Jewish Christians and himself, he caused another misunderstanding in the process.

Apparently, the Jews, both Christian and non-Christian, were under the impression that Paul taught that if you were a Jew, you should just abandon the law of Moses completely.

Because of this, James and the other church elders suggested he join in on a purification rite along with four other Jewish Christians.

More, they suggested to Paul that he should pay their expenses so that their heads could be shaved as part of a vow they had taken. (They had perhaps taken a Nazirite vow as described in Numbers 6).

Paul assented. Some commentators claim this was a mistake, that Paul should not have compromised in this way.

It’s hard to make a definitive statement on this, but my guess is that he didn’t. That rather, he was becoming as a Jew to save the Jews. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

Mistake or not, while it may have helped his standing among the Jewish Christians, he was still accused by the other Jews of not only teaching against the law of Moses, but of defiling the temple by bringing a Gentile into it.

(Paul never did, but they made that assumption based on seeing him hang around with an Ephesian in Jerusalem).

The point is that when you follow Christ and do the things he’s called you to, you are always in a position where you could be misunderstood.

You can be misunderstood by people inside the church, or even outside the church. And regardless of what you say or do to clear up the misunderstandings, some people simply will not understand you.

So what can you do?

Keep following Christ. Keep doing the things you feel he’s asked you to do. That’s really all any of us can do. And leave the judgments up to him.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t take a close look at our own actions. Maybe the criticisms made of us are completely without basis.

But maybe, just maybe, there’s something in those criticisms that we need to take a closer look at.

So take a look at your actions and motives. Then act according to what you feel God is telling you.

But in the end, take the attitude of Paul himself who said,

I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.

At that time each will receive their praise from God. (1 Corinthians 4:3-5)