2 Corinthians 6 -- The Craving To Be Appreciated

"The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated ... The Corinthian church did not really seem to appreciate Paul and the work he had done among them," my commentary said.

Not only had he been the evangelist who led them to Christ.  He'd also been an example for them by the way he lived and worked.  "Paul was not begging for praise, but he was reminding his friends in Corinth that his ministry to them had cost him dearly ... In the same way, are we showing gratitude to those who have ministered to us?"

Paul also appealed for separation.  "He felt like a father whose children were robbing him of the love that he deserved ... They had divided hearts.  The false teachers had stolen their hearts ... and now they were compromising with the world, so Paul appealed to them to separate themselves to God."

As he did this, he argued that "the Christian possesses a divine nature, and therefore he should want to associate himself only with that which pleases the Lord ... Also God commands His people to come out ... we must not associate with that which will compromise our testimony or lead us into disobedience."

Finally, Paul reminded them of the promise of God's blessing ... God blesses those who separate themselves from sin and unto the Lord."

"We have some spiritual responsibilities.  We must cleanse ourselves once and for all of anything that defiles us.  It is not enough to ask God to cleanse us; we must clean up our own lives and get rid of those things that make it easy for us to sin ... Perhaps there is ... some pet sin that feeds the old nature, ... or it may be an attitude that is sinful ...But cleansing ourselves is only half of the responsibility; we must also be perfecting holiness in the fear of God.  This is a constant process as we grow in grace and knowledge ... But it is foolish to try to perfect holiness if there is known sin in our lives."

Father, help me to separate myself from anything that seeks to draw me away from You.