1 Corinthians 9

1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? 2 Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
3 This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. 4 Don't we have the right to food and drink? 5 Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas[1] ? 6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?
7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? 8 Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn't the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain."[2] Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more?


9:1-2 - Sometimes i feel like this when I'm working with the youth group, I say to myself, "Am I not free?" Not that I'm saying that I'm an apostle, but I am one of God's workers to His people. A lot of times I don't think I should be. How am I supposed to be a good leader and a good witness when my life is in shambles? I can't even get my own life in order, let alone a bunch of kids'.

That's when I tell myself to strive on. Press on towards the finish. Regardless if I think I'm right for the position or if I feel like it, I must do what the Lord has given me to do. It's hard to see this reality, it's even harder to make it a reality.

9:3 - I guess when Paul was writing this, they were talking about the way He was preaching or the people he was preaching to. I don't know what kind of judgment I receive but I know it can't be favorable. I just look back to this past weekend. Possibly one of the worst weekends I had. Sure it was "fun", but all that stuff is transient. It wasn't a good weekend in the sense that I would like it to be.

9:4 - I don't know what Paul is talking about here, food and drink? Is it refering to the previous chapter where Paul is talking about food sacrificed to idols? For some reason, it doesn't sound that way. It sounds more like Paul is talking about his right to eat and drink while there at Corinth. Maybe he needs spiritual food and drink. I know i feel that way after serving. You're serving and serving and you never get a chance to eat. The few chances you get are meager and unsatisfying.

9:7 - We do the things we do for a specific reason, for a personal gain. Even if it's something we enjoy doing, we seek some sort of satisfaction or gratification from all the work we've put into it. It's really frustrating when you put effort into something and see nothing come out of it.

9:11 - Is it too much to ask for fruit. Of course not. It should be expected, desired. This isn't something selfish, because I gain nothing from the growth of other brothers or sisters. At least not here on earth. I may have the joy of watching them grow, but in terms of personal benefit, I gain nothing. So is it wrong to desire and seek this? No. So I continue to seek and strive for my younger brothers and sisters. In hope that they may bear fruit according their kind.

9:12 - We are actually more deserving because this is more important, more valuable then some crop or some animals.