“You may be asking why I changed my plan. Do you think I make my plans carelessly? Do you think I am like people of the world who say “Yes” when they really mean “No”? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” He is the one whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says. For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”
2 Corinthians 1:17-20 NLT
It seems the Corinthians asked Paul why he had planned to visit them, but then changed his mind. Towards the end of his previous letter, Paul wrote, “I am coming to visit you after I have been to Macedonia, for I am planning to travel through Macedonia” (1 Corinthians 16:5). As we know, plans can change, often due to factors outside of our control. Illness, a family bereavement, a cancelled business meeting, or bad weather can force a change of plan. But something similar happened in Paul’s situation, and he couldn’t return to Corinth after all. In 1 Corinthians 16:8-9, we read, “In the meantime, I will be staying here at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost. There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me”. Perhaps Paul felt that the situation in Ephesus required him to stay longer, and being pulled in two directions caused him considerable pain. But the greater need prevailed in the end, and he stayed in Ephesus.
Paul seemed to be trying to prejudge what the Corinthians thought of his change of plans, writing, “You may be asking why I changed my plan”. Perhaps he had heard that the Corinthians had made grand arrangements to receive him, with accommodation and a series of special meetings organised, so the organisers were a bit upset. In modern times, we might think that Paul had been “no-platformed” because of his belief in Jesus, His death, resurrection and divinity, all events hotly contested by the traditional Jews. But whatever the reason, Paul had to cancel or postpone his original plan to visit his friends in Corinth.
Paul continued by asking the question, “Do you think I am like people of the world who say “Yes” when they really mean “No”?”. That was a problem then, as it is today, because people say what they think others expect them to say, even if they have no intent of carrying through on what they said “Yes” to. So Paul moved quickly to quash that idea. I do not vacillate as the people of the world do, was his response. In his previous letter, Paul genuinely intended to visit Corinth, and it would have upset him to learn later that he couldn’t. But that was not due to any lack of integrity on his part. His “Yes” meant “Yes” and not “Yes” and “No” at the same time.
Jesus taught about vows, oaths and integrity in His Sermon on the Mount, and we read in Matthew 5:33-34, 37, “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. … Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one”. Jesus put His divine finger on the problem of human duplicity, and His teaching is as relevant today as it was then. But often we find ourselves under pressure, trying to take the easy way out and saying whatever it takes to extricate ourselves from an otherwise unbearable situation. Imagine the boss at work calling us into his office at 5 pm, and asking us to do something in our leisure time over the weekend. We say “Yes, I’ll do it” to be able to retreat quickly from his office, but then spend the weekend thinking of a reason why we haven’t been able to do it. It would have been far better to talk through the reason with him why weekend working would not be possible, and to say “No, sorry, but I can’t” to his request. Or a relative wants us to visit, but we don’t want to hurt their feelings. So we agree to schedule a visit, effectively saying “Yes, I’ll come to see you”, but then conveniently forget the request and say to ourselves inside, ”No, I can’t at the moment”. The problem is that people tend to take the easy way out and say “Yes” when they really mean “No”.
“For all of God’s promises
have been fulfilled in Christ
with a resounding “Yes!”
Paul reminded the Corinthians of Jesus’ integrity, because He is the ultimate “Yes” to all of God’s promises. God has given us the gift of eternal life; He hasn’t said “Yes, I’ll do it” when He really meant “No, I won’t”. When God says “Yes”, He means “Yes” and not “No”. Paul was led by God’s “Yes” when he changed his travel plans, because it was for the good of both the Ephesians and the Corinthians, and for Christ’s glory. When we say “Yes” and “No” in true integrity and honesty of heart, God smiles on us. It pleases Him because by doing this, we are behaving in a way that brings glory to His Son, Jesus. What are we pilgrims going to face today? Are we ready to tell the truth, no matter how difficult it might be? Or is there something we said “Yes” to in the past week or so that we haven’t done yet? Hmmm…
Dear Father God. Integrity of heart is what You require, and once again we confess our sins and ask for Your help and forgiveness. Please bring to our remembrance situations that need to be corrected. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 