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Today's Pathway: II Corinthians 2:4-6 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you. But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all. Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.

Yesterday we saw that Paul had written his previous letter to the Corinthians out of love for them. In verse 4 he speaks of the anguish that he felt in writing it. He wept over the letter. He was burdened for their spiritual condition and it brought out emotions in him. Psalm 126:5-6 states,

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."

Paul sets a good example for us here. First, we need to be concerned about the decisions that our brethren are making. We should be burdened when they go the wrong way. If we don't care about their relationship with the Lord, what does this say about our relationship with the Lord? If we love them then we should care about them, and this should motivate us to some form of action. This brings us to the second example that Paul sets. Even though he loves the Corinthians, and does not desire to "hurt" them, yet he still tells them what they need to hear. Sometimes we allow our desire to not hurt someone's feelings or our fear of how they will respond to keep us from telling them the truth. J Vernon McGee applied this principle to pastors this way:

"A great many people today fall out with the preacher when he preaches a message that is rather severe. Some people think that a pastor should not do that. May I say to you, my friend, that a faithful pastor must do that. Any man who stands in the pulpit today has a tremendous responsibility to rebuke what is wrong. Paul tells them here that his rebuke was not because he was opposed to them, but because he loved them. A faithful pastor shows his love by preaching the Word of God as it is rather than 'buttering up' the congregation."

In verses 5-11 Paul deals with an issue that he has mentioned to the Corinthians previously. There are some commentators who disagree with me, but I believe this refers back to I Corinthians 5 where Paul discusses the man who was having a relationship with his father's wife. He stated there that the man was committing a terrible sin, and that the church was sinning by not dealing with this man's immorality. He rebuked the church, and then told them how to handle the offender. The "he" in verse 5 of today's passage refers to that man. Paul indicates that he was not personally grieved by the situation. Paul's comment about not being grieved doesn't mean that he didn't care, for he obviously cared enough to rebuke the man and the church. Albert Barnes interpreted Paul's words this way:

"He has not particularly offended or grieved me. He has grieved me only in common with others, and as a part of the church of Christ. All have common cause of grief; and I have no interest in it which is not common to you all. I am but one of a great number who have felt the deepest concern on account of his conduct."