Craig T. Owens

Do we begin again to commend ourselves?… (2 Corinthians 3:1)

Paul didn’t bring letters of reference to Corinth, nor did he ask the Corinthians to write any testimonials on his behalf.

A mark of a godly leader is one who doesn’t feel the need to toot his own horn.

 Paul’s focus was not on what he could get now, but on what would be his in eternity—

• any “letters of recommendation” would be written on peoples hearts (v. 3)
• any skills he had came through Jesus (vv. 4-6)
• he had hope that God was keeping accurate records (vv. 7-11)
• he had the freedom to speak boldly in love because he wasn’t trying to win man’s approval (vv. 12-13, 18)
• he saw transformed lives as his real trophy (v. 18)
• his ministry was through God’s mercy so he remained humbled and encouraged (4:1)
• he didn’t feel the need to concoct a “marketing plan” nor leverage his pulpit for personal gain (v. 2)
• he focused on glorifying God alone (vv. 3, 4, 6)
• his sermons weren’t me-focused, but always others-focused as he became a bondservant to those to whom he ministered (v. 5)
• he worked only for eternal rewards (vv. 7-12, 16-18)
• he spoke only what he had already appropriated and faithfully applied to his own life (vv. 13-15)

Our prayer could be very similar to what Paul taught and probably prayed for himself—“May I lead by serving. May I not look for human praise—nor even be tempted to toot my own horn—but lead and minister only to hear applause from the nail-scarred hands of Jesus.” 

As R.T. Kendall reminds us—

“Every day we breathe in and out—in and out—thousands of times a day. There is a day fixed, that unless Jesus comes first, you and I will only breathe out. No amount of money, power, or prestige can alter the date that we each have with death. And at that moment the only thing that will matter is whether we have known Christ and served Him well—that our lives have made a difference. In short: that we are popular in heaven—and famous in hell.”

This is part 37 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.