Free Labor

If you work at something should you not be able to enjoy the fruits of your labors?

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to our food and drink? Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who at any time pays the expenses for doing military service? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not get any of its milk? Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law also say the same? For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Or does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was indeed written for our sake, for whoever plows should plow in hope and whoever threshes should thresh in hope of a share in the crop. If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we still more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is sacrificed on the altar? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this so that they may be applied in my case. Indeed, I would rather die than that no one will deprive me of my ground for boasting! - 1 Corinthians 9:1-15

Paul is having a difficult time explaining himself here.

He calls himself an apostle of Christ, but he is not respected as one, because his encounter with Jesus was through a vision.  

But Paul, after putting forth his argument for support for the work he does for Christ, backs off and tells the people of Corinth, it is the work of spreading the good news the Gospel that matters, not him, personally.

It's not about me, he says.

Hmm.

I saw that someone posted a survey on LinkedIn about internships.  Should they be paid or unpaid?  That was the question.

I thought about it and chose not to make a decision on it.  

In some cases, I feel interns should be paid for the work they do, even though they are learning.  After all, we are all learning the job as we go, right?

But I like the idea of unpaid internships because they provide opportunities that requiring payment might eliminate.

Not everyone can afford to pay someone to learn the job, so requiring payment may reduce the number of jobs available.

Paul said, I am entitled to it, but I am not asking for it.  I deserve the right to boast about that.

I wonder.  If we offered people a choice when we hired them, would they choose to work for free?

I think we call them volunteers.

More to come...