2 Corinthians 8:21; Providing for Honest Things

2 Corinthians 8:21 Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

If I take out my watch to find what time it is, it will be of little use for me to look at it unless I am sure that it keeps good time. If it sometimes stands still for an hour or more and then goes on again; if it sometimes loses two or three hours a day by going too slow, or gains as much more by going too fast, then I cannot depend on it.

A watch that cannot be depended on is of very little use. It may have a beautiful gold case, it may be sparkling with jewels, yet it will be of no service to me as a watch unless I can depend on what it tells me about the time. We do not judge of the value of a watch by the kind of case it has, but by finding out whether it keeps good time.

Honesty is the beginning of every good thing, both in heaven and on earth; and he who would be blessed and happy should be from the first a partaker of truth, that he may live a true man as long as possible, for then he can be trusted; but he is not to be trusted who loves voluntary falsehood, and he who loves involuntary falsehood is a fool. [Character Sketches For Boys and Girls by Henry Davenport Northrop]

The Apostle Paul sought to be useful in the work of God as a good watch, providing honest things not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of men. In this matter of the offering collected for the Jerusalem church, he ensured that there was good accountability in the stewardship in handling the process of collection and transmission.

Truly, he was able to as Solomon instructs, to do as Proverbs 3:3-4 “3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.” Amen.