[In talking about others having the right to be supported in their ministry, the apostle Paul says of himself,] "But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast [of being self-supporting]."
Paul was careful not to take support from the Corinthians even though it was his right as a minister of the Gospel. Instead, he knew their problems with generosity and showed them a greater example of living for Jesus without obvious and instant rewards. Often, we must show our values before others share them with us. Paul was a master at reading the needs around him and living in a way that was an example. He then would call them to follow his example as he followed the example of Christ (
1 Corinthians 4:16,
11:1). By not receiving support for his ministry, Paul demonstrated to them that they needed to make a living with their own hands and be responsible (
1 Corinthians 4:12;
1 Thessalonians 4:11). Let's commit to following Paul's example and live with integrity before others.
![Illustration of 1 Corinthians 9:15 — [In talking about others having the right to be supported in their ministry, the apostle Paul says of himself,] "But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast [of being self-supporting]."](https://img.heartlight.org/overlazy/creations/877.jpg "Illustration of 1 Corinthians 9:15 — [In talking about others having the right to be supported in their ministry, the apostle Paul says of himself,] \"But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast [of being self-supporting].\"")
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