Sacred Sunday~II Corinthians Chapter 10/Thou Shall Not Brag About Yourself

• A little historical footnote before we start this chapter: Scholars think that 2 Corinthians is actually made up of two letters. The first one was chapters 1-9. The second one begins here. You'll probably notice the weird tone shift. Just a sentence ago, Paul was praising the Corinthians for their generosity and asking them for money, and now he's reaming them out. No one is going to empty their pocketbooks after this stuff.

You Wouldn't Like Paul When He's Angry. Paul begins by saying he's writing to them in "the meekness and gentleness of Christ," and then he goes on to freak out. It seems people have been saying Paul is actually more impressive in letter than in person. Hey, all we have is letters to go on, but that might be true. But Paul wants to make it clear that he's not afraid to confront these naysayers when he sees them. Paul is a man of action, not just beautifully written words. We're at war here. And Paul is going to take it to the enemy. Let's get ready to rumble. Tried-and-True Apostle Paul reminds the Corinthians that if they're really devoted to Christ, they'll see that he is, too. Not like these other jerks hanging around Corinth. It seems there's a group of so-called apostles who don't like Paul much. Don't think the people in Corinth should actually be listening to him. But Paul tells them that he's not going to brag about himself like they do. Maybe they're all talking up their holiness or how they all had fancy religious experiences. Paul's not gonna go there. He reminds the Corinthians that he was the one who founded their church. Him. Paul. Now these punks have come in and tread on his work. Why? Can't they get their own flock. Thanks to www.shmoop.com