¹⁶But thanks be to God who puts the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of Titus. ¹⁷For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord. ¹⁸We have sent along with him the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches; ¹⁹and not only this, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work, which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our readiness, ²⁰taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift; ²¹for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

Paul’s passion for generosity is coupled with his utmost care for integrity in handling funds donated, a concern shared by Titus and another unnamed “brother.” This is an important caution in today’s environment where Christian ministries have become big business, with huge amounts of money involved. He wanted no basis for anyone wanting to lay an accusation of impropriety of any kind against him or his fellow workers.

We know Titus from previous mentions in this letter, but the identity of the unnamed individual is left to speculation. To be sure, he was well known among the churches, Paul referring to his “fame” (literally “praise”). But the apostle was never reticent about naming people, either for their admirable traits or their nefarious ones, so the omission of the fellow’s name might seem odd, especially in light of mentioning Titus by name. Rather than adding our voice in guessing who this might be, we might better consider what is said about him that is important. In our day of name recognition, where life ambition within ministry can so easily become a quest for “making a name for oneself,” it is highly notable that one significant brother remains anonymous in this letter. The question for all of us is this: “Do we serve for the praise of men or the praise of God?” If God knows of our work for Him, what does it matter if our name is not great among men?

In the area of handling funds, we should imitate Paul in the precautions taken. Paul involved trusted men of good reputation. There was more than one involved in handling the funds. They were cautious about how things looked (“in the sight of men”). They were mindful of doing nothing that would discredit them as workers of this project. The application of this for today should go without question, the only issues being the practical steps to implementing such standards in our churches and ministries. Nothing can discredit and ruin a ministry, church, or servant of the Lord more than failure in this area.

Lord, may those in my church who handle the money do so with great integrity.