¹Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. ²On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. ³When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem;⁴and if it is fitting for me to go also, they will go with me.

Paul, the fundraiser”—that sounds odd given that he elsewhere boasted that he preached the gospel “without” charge (1 Cor. 9:18, 2 Cor. 11:7, 12:13) and often worked at tent-making to support himself and others (Acts 20:33–35, 18:3). To put it simply, the biblical evidence is clear:

• Paul clearly defended his entitlement as an apostle to financial support from the Christians (1 Cor. 9:6-11).
• At times, Paul did not take advantage of that entitlement (1 Cor. 9:12).
• At other times, Paul was in fact financially supported (Phil. 4:15–16).
• He saw financial support to him as a gift (Phil. 4:16–18), not as a salary.
• At times, he suffered deprivation (Phil. 4:11–12), but trusted God to enable him to carry on his ministry regardless of his “income” (Phil. 4:13, 18).
• He never once asked anyone to support him financially.
• He boldly taught that those serving the Lord should be financially supported (1 Cor. 9:9, 1 Tim 5:17–18).

So Paul, reticent as he was about accepting any money from the Corinthians for his own benefit, directs them to join in the benevolence campaign that he began with the Galatian churches and included the churches in Macedonia and Achaia (Rom. 15:26–27, 2 Cor. 8:1). This took place on Paul’s third mission tour of the eastern Mediterranean, and he was very specific about his directions, giving them opportunity to implement what he taught them in 1 Corinthians 14:40, “But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.” He gives the directive, and he assumes their obedient response. The impression we get from reading this is that the directive was non-negotiable. There was a need, and as Christians the Corinthians were responsible to contribute to that need.

Today we still have the same responsibility. Praise God for those with the gift of administration and passion to rally believers to work together in an orderly way to help meet those tangible and financial needs of others.

Lord, enlarge my heart to generosity, that others might share in the abundance of what You have given me.