16AUG07

"Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I? Or what I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, so that with me there will be yes, yes and no, no at the same time? But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no. For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us-by me and Silvanus and Timothy-was not yes and no, but yes in Him."

II Corinthians 1:17-19, NASB

Paul is defending himself and his integrity in the passage above. It is amazing how God arranges things so that the passage I've been thinking over the past few days finds its way into a devotional that I get e-mailed to me! I've been thinking mostly of the "yes, yes" and "no, no" thing. In the New Testament, I have found this teaching three times: Matt 5:37, here in II Corinthians and James 5:12. The focus of my meditations has been how my life does not have that kind of integrity (or stability). I understand that both stability and integrity is possible, but that truth is not the point of these meditations. Paul defends himself for not doing the things which he planned to do. Knowing that Paul is defending his actions prove to me that his change of plans is not an evil thing. Of course, I cannot conclude that because Paul made plans and went back on them, I can also. But what of my making plans? Invariably, when I plan, something always comes up that will cause me to change something from my original intent. It is wrong not to plan. It is also wrong for me to plan and demand that those plans be played out exactly as I planned them. Such is the course of my life. I cannot seem to make my yes be yes and my no be no. I will make a definite statement, and there is always something (or someone) that will find its way in to prove it (or me) wrong.I think at the heart of Jesus' teachings and at the heart of Paul's defense is the condemnation of self-preservation. Paul changed his plans because he did not want to grieve the Corinthians with another visit full of grief and sorrow (2:1). His decision was made out of love for the Corinthian believers. In the other two passages, the context was in making oaths and swearing. In those passages, it is easy to understand the integrity that is condoned. In a related way, Paul defends the integrity of his decision by proving that his decision was not made out of selfishness or lack of love. He changed his plans for someone else. That is something I could stand to learn in my own life. I guess integrity is consistently making plans knowing that you may have to change them in order to prevent grieving others affected by your decisions.If only it were easier to "consider others better than myself."

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Jn 3:30