A Little Boasting About a Lot of Suffering

Glimpses into the life of Paul are few and far between. Auto-biography was neither his mission nor his calling. He wrote, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). And what he wrote he lived. References to himself were brief and sparing, and only for the purpose of communicating truth that redounded to the good of his hearers. There is not a single gratuitous reference to himself in any of his many letters. Given that, 2 Corinthians 11:22-33 comes as quite a surprise. In a pointed use of irony, by way of personal biography, Paul takes a poke at his opponents in a message entitled, “A Little Boasting About a Lot of Suffering”. A timely message to a church enamored with all the trappings of success.