2 Corinthians 7:13-16 – Being affirmative

We catch a glimpse of how Paul felt toward the Corinthians in this closing of chapter 7. He sent Titus to them with a positive attitude. It shows us that although he was distressed by the Corinthians, he did not give Titus a negative image about them. In sending Titus to Corinth he seemed to have said some very positive things to him about the Corinthians. This short three verses also tell us that the Christians in Corinth were also capable of positive response. So Titus came back to Paul with very heartening reports about them. And for that reason Paul was comforted.   

 

If Paul had bad-mouthed the Corinthians to Titus he would have gone there with a very negative outlook of them. Titus would have approached them with guardedness and would be wary and mean towards them. But this passage tells us that he did not. Instead he received a joyful reception from them and was comforted, and his spirit refreshed by them.

 

Apparently Paul had boasted about the Corinthians and he felt vindicated by the positive way the Corinthians had responded to Titus. Whatever positive things Paul told Titus about them came to be true. Paul had a magnanimous heart. Though he had a hard time with the Christians at Corinth, he gave Titus a good account about them. That must have created in Titus an affection for the Corinthians even before he ever set foot in Corinth.

 

Titus started on the right footing. He went to the believers of Corinth without any aversion but only affection. And after the warm reception by them, he was even more affectionate towards them as he recalled their obedience, and how they reverently accepted him. So Paul rounded up by saying that he was glad that he had placed his confidence in them Corinthians for they did not disappoint him.

 

No matter how badly we feel about a person, it would be more helpful to look at the positive side of that person. It is always better to be affirmative and encouraging, than being injurious in our remarks about others, more so when we have been hurt by them. What we sow is what we’ll reap. What goes around turns around because the rooster always returns to crow!