1 Corinthians 9:19
For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.
A mission focused life is one of clarity, freedom and energy. To know WHY you are here (on this earth, in this community, in this spot on the globe) is like a fire that builds inside and fuels all the rest of what you do. You can't know WHAT to do about a situation in life if you lose focus on the WHY of your life. In the above verse we are in the middle of Paul's focus on his ministry and the authority he has for his ministry. He COULD claim the right of apostleship. He could claim the right of authority over these members of the Corinth church because he lead them to the Lord ... he was their spiritual father. Apparently there were some in the church that were not only questioning Paul's position of authority, but also telling others to not "support" his ministry financially. He could come in and demand their support based upon his position in the world-wide church. However, Paul had already made a decision in his life. His life was not about his right in position but his commitment to his mission. He had already laid all of his "rights" aside but saying he would be a servant of Christ and do what Christ wanted him to do. By becoming a servant to Christ, Paul had become a servant to all ... because he wanted to win all to Christ. His mission was not to exercise his rights, but to serve Christ by winning others over to Christ's way. This is his point in chapter 9 and the connection to the freedom in chapter 8. He may be free, but, through faith in his call, he is obligated to serve. I love how one commentary lays out what Paul is telling us:
World Biblical Commentary:
Paul writes, “For being free … I enslaved myself to all.” The opening of the line (“for”) shows that Paul is offering a further explanation for his practice of foregoing his rights or freedom on behalf of others. Moreover, he says, “I made myself a slave” or “I enslaved myself,” referring to the past stance he had taken in doing missions, not to a current and renewing practice as the tense of the verb (“I make”) suggests in the NIV. Being free, having rights, Paul laid his rights aside in order to win as many as possible. Paul states that effective evangelization of others is more important than claiming, possessing, and preserving his own rights. The point of consistency in Paul’s behavior was that he always put doing God’s mission ahead of everything else.
Finding freedom in service may be the height of life experiences. Even though we can claim a right, we don't ... we serve Christ and therefor others. Paul had a right to demand and, instead, he allowed himself to be defrauded so that the mission of reaching someone for Christ would not be hindered. Paul saw that his mission for Christ trumped all other emotions he might have had and could control his decisions. The truth is, we are all bound to the mission and not our own individual passions. Mission focus might make us servants of others, but it produces freedom that others can never quite understand.
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