2 Corinthians on WorkSample

For years, my friend had sold millions of dollars in artwork featuring a passage of Scripture. Then he discovered that the Bible translation he was using in the artwork was copyrighted, which could have meant he owed the copyright owners a lot of money in royalties.

The chances that the copyright holder would’ve ever noticed my friend’s oversight were slim to none. But my friend knew what he needed to do. So, he hired an expensive attorney, contacted the owner of the copyright, and offered to retroactively pay a huge sum of money in backdated royalties.

In this scenario, my friend was an exemplary picture of what the Apostle Paul is talking about in today’s passage from 2 Corinthians 8: “taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.”

As Christ-followers, we are called to go the extra mile to be totally above reproach—especially at work where our actions are likely to be noticed by many unbelievers. This could mean paying for a few hours of an attorney’s time to make sure you’re above board in how you’re classifying employees and contractors, or asking your finance department the question you don’t want to ask because you’re afraid of the answer, or redoing a piece of work for a client at your own expense, because you know it wasn’t your best.

Where do you need to “take pains to do what is right” today? Pray about and respond to that question so that your “ministry will not be discredited” (2 Corinthians 6:3).