¹⁴ Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

Now Paul turned to tell the Corinthian church that he loved them. His purpose for writing was for the church to be strengthened and edified by his rebuke leading to this verse. His plan in refusing their support did not mean that he did not love them.

¹⁴ Now for the third time I am ready to come to you.

Paul was again ready to visit the church at the writing of 2 Corinthians. His first visit is found in Acts 18:1-18. His possible second visit to Corinth was painful (2 Co 2:1). The upcoming visit would be his third.

And I will not be burdensome to you;

The apostle again repeated that he did not expect financial support from them even on his third visit.

for I do not seek yours, but you.

Paul did not seek the Corinthians’ possessions. His purpose was to correct, bless, and encourage them. This is an expression of his love for the Corinthians, as he wrote in the next verse (2 Co 12:15).

For the children ought not to lay up for the parents,

The use of a metaphor of parents caring for their children is how Paul approached the Corinthians. It is the natural way people with responsibility care for those they lead. Children do not tend the parents when they are young. That would be unusual. The noun for “lay up” is the same as our English word thesaurus, a treasury of words, which means that parents would provide for their children.

but the parents for the children.

It is the parent’s role to care for children. It was Paul’s role to care for the Corinthian church and not theirs for him. As a father pays for the needs of the child, so Paul, their spiritual father, met the needs of the Corinthians.

PRINCIPLE:

It is the responsibility of Christian leaders to serve their followers.

APPLICATION:

People in ministry should be in it for others, not themselves (Php 4:17).