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Rights and Refusal to Use Them

¹ I am a free cowboy. I have been personally chosen by Jesus Christ whom I have seen. I am responsible for you being a part of God's outfit here on earth and in heaven. ² Others can think what they want about these things, but Jesus chose me to be a ramrod, or an apostle to you. Y'all are proof of this.

³ This is my answer to my critics and those who judge me. ⁴ A ramrod has the right to eat and drink, doesn't he? ⁵ He can bring a believing wife on his travels, can't he? The other ramrods (Pete and the Lord's brothers) do this. ⁶ Are Barnabas and I the only ones who have to daywork for our meals? ⁷ A soldier in the army doesn't have to have a side job to pay for his meals. A farmer eats his own vegetables. A dairyman drinks the milk from his own cows.

⁸ I'm not saying these things because it fits my agenda. God's code says the same thing. ⁹ The code of Moses says, "When an ox is treading grain, don't keep it from eating as it works." Are oxen worth more to God than we are? ¹⁰ Wasn't this an illustration about us? Yes, it was. The cowboys all get a share of the meat regardless if they do the calving, the gathering, or the roping and doctoring.

¹¹ Since we are the ones who gathered you and brought you onto God's outfit, shouldn't we be entitled to sustenance? ¹² If y'all support cowboys who come in and preach, shouldn't we get at least the same support, maybe even more? But we've never used this right. We'd rather be dog-tired from working all day rather than be a burr in the good news about Jesus.

¹³ Did you not know that those who work in the temple get their meals and salary from what is brought in as offerings? Those who work at the altar get a piece of the meat. ¹⁴ In the same way, Jesus said that those who preach the good news should be taken care of by those who benefit from it. ¹⁵ But I've never used this "ace in the hole" even though I could. And I'm not going to start using it because I've been called to something different than the rest of them. I preach without pay and I can brag about it. ¹⁶ But don't mistake what I'm saying. I ain't bragging about preaching the good news. That's what God has called me to do. I can't imagine my life any other way. ¹⁷ If I had decided on my own to preach, then I'd accept my wages for it, but Jesus appeared to me himself and gave me my duty. ¹⁸ So what is my wage for working? My reward is telling people the good news for free and not using the rights I'm entitled to.

¹⁹ Even though I don't owe any man anything, I have made myself a slave to all men in hopes to bring them to Christ. ²⁰ When I was with the Jews, I acted like a Jew to show them Jesus. I lived under the Law when I was with those living under the Law. I know I don't have to, but I do it anyway in order to bring them to Christ. ²¹ When I'm with the Gentile outsiders, I live like they do in order to show them how they too can live for Jesus. It's not about disobeying the law of God, it's about following the code of Jesus. ²² To the weak, I became weak to help save them. I have become all things to all people in order to save them by any means possible. ²³ This is about the good news being known. I do what I do for the glory of God and his good news.

²⁴ You know that in a roping, all the ropers rope, but only one team gets the buckle. Rope to win! ²⁵ All who rope put in a lot of practice in order to win. But the things these cowboys win will not last. However, our prize will last forever. ²⁶ So, I rope like I'm gonna win. I train for the real deal, not just so I can be good on a dummy. ²⁷ I train my body every single day to make it do what I want, when I want. I can talk all I want, but I want the prize for myself. I don't just talk a good game, I rope it, too.