In Chapter 9 of the First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul used his own life as an example of sacrificing oneself for the sake of others. He often refused financial assistance even though he was entitled to it. He supported himself to avoid laying any burden on those whom he came to serve.
St. Augustine commented: “He shows that he has the same rights as the other apostles, that is, the right to be exempt from manual labour and to earn his living from preaching the gospel, according to the Lord’s commandment, as he clearly shows in what follows. Faithful women who had earthly possessions used to go with the apostles and minister to them from what they possessed so that they would lack none of the goods necessary for this life. Paul shows that he has the same right as the other apostles but reveals later that he declined to make use of it.”
St. Paul wrote, “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Cor 9:22). St. Cyril of Jerusalem said, “Everywhere the Saviour becomes ‘all things to all men.’ To the hungry, bread; to the thirsty, water; to the dead, resurrection; to the sick, a physician; to sinners, redemption.”
St. Augustine teaches us that we can become all things to all people by thinking sympathetically and putting ourselves in the other’s place. The saint said, “A person who nurses a sick man becomes, in a sense, sick himself, not by pretending to have a fever but by thinking sympathetically how he would like to be treated if he were sick himself.” Commenting on the phrase “To those outside the law I became as one outside the law” (1 Cor 9:21), St. Augustine said, “He did this by compassion, not by lying. For each one becomes like him whom he wants to help when such great mercy prevails as that each one would wish for himself if he were in the same misery. And so he becomes like the other—not by deceiving him but by putting himself in the other’s place.”
St. Josemaria Escriva said, “A Christian has to be ready to share his life with everyone at all times, giving to everyone the chance to come nearer to Christ Jesus. He has to sacrifice his own desires willingly for the sake of others, without separating people into watertight compartments, without pigeonholing them or putting tags on them as though they were merchandise or insect specimens. A Christian cannot afford to separate himself from others, because, if he did that, his life would be miserably selfish. He must become ‘all things to all men, in order to save all men’ (1 Cor 9:22).”
St. Paul wrote, “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable” (1 Cor 9:25). St. Augustine said, “When we enter upon the way of the Lord, let us fast from the vanity of this present life and refresh ourselves with the hope of the future life, not focusing our heart on things here but feasting it on things above.” The same saint also said, “During our pilgrimage through this world, our life cannot be free from temptation, for it is precisely through temptation that we make our way forward; no one can truly know himself if he is not tempted, nor be crowned if he has not been victorious, nor be victorious if he has not fought, nor fight if he has no enemies and temptations.”
Archbishop Averky commented: “Having indicated himself as a model of restraint from personal desires and needs for the sake of others, Paul wants to incline the Corinthians to do the same. Therefore, he uses a well-known image of a runner in a race (Corinth was well known for its Isthmian Games) and a boxer, both of whom are ‘temperate in all things’ that could make their bodies fat and weak, for the sake of winning merely perishable crowns… This is the foundation of Christian asceticism: it is impossible to uproot one’s sinful passions or succeed in the spiritual life without limiting the needs of the body.”
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「對一切人，我就成為一切」
在格林多前書第9章中，聖保祿以自己的生命為例，說明為他人犧牲自己的重要性。他經常拒絕應得的經濟援助，並以勞動自食其力，避免給他所服務的人帶來任何負擔。
聖奧斯定評論道：「他表明自己擁有與其他宗徒相同的權利，即按主的誡命，免於體力勞動的權利，並憑藉宣講福音而獲得生活所需，正如他在後文中清楚地指出的那樣。那些擁有世俗財產的忠信婦女，曾跟隨宗徒，並以她們的財物供養宗徒們，使他們不缺乏生活所需。聖保祿表明他與其他宗徒擁有相同的權利，但在後來揭示，他選擇不使用這項權利。」
聖保祿寫道：「對軟弱的人，我就成為軟弱的，為贏得那軟弱的人；對一切人，我就成為一切，為的是總要救些人。」（格前9:22）耶路撒冷的聖濟利祿說：「救主到處為眾人成為一切：對於飢餓的人，他是食糧；對於口渴的人，他是水泉；對於亡者，他是復活；對於病者，他是醫生；對於罪人，他是救贖。」
聖奧斯定教導我們，可以藉同情感受和設身處地成為眾人的一切。聖人說：「一個看護病人的人，在某種意義上也成為病人，不是藉著假裝發燒，而是以同情心去體會，若自己患病時希望如何被對待。」在評論「對那些法律以外的人，我就成為法律以外的人。」（格前9:21）這句話時，聖奧斯定說：「他是藉著憐憫而這樣做，而不是藉著欺騙。因為當一個人像他，以如此大的憐憫之心去幫助人時，他會設身處地去體會，若自己身陷相同的不幸，他會希望別人如何待他，於是他變得像他想幫助的人 – 不是藉著欺騙，而是藉著設身處地為他人著想。」
聖若瑟瑪利亞·施禮華曾說：「一位基督徒必須隨時準備好與每個人分享自己的生命，讓所有人都有機會接近耶穌基督。他必須甘心為了他人的緣故犧牲自己的願望，而不是將人分成彼此隔絕的群體，也不是將人歸類或標籤，好像他們是商品或昆蟲標本。一位基督徒絕不能將自己與他人分隔開來，因為如果這樣做，他的生活將會極其自私。他必須成為『為眾人成為眾人，去拯救眾人。』」（格前9:22）」
聖保祿寫道：「凡比武競賽的，在一切事上都有節制；他們只是為得到可朽壞的花冠，而我們卻是為得到不朽壞的花冠。」（格前9:25）聖奧斯定說：「當我們踏上主的道路時，讓我們禁絕今世虛榮，並以來世的希望滋養自己，不要將心注目於世上的事，而是以天上的事使心靈得以滿足。」聖人還說：「在這世的旅途中，我們的生命不可能免於試探，因為正是在試探中，我們才得以向前邁進；沒有人未經試探就能真正認識自己，也沒有人未得勝就能加冕，沒有人未戰鬥就能得勝，也沒有人是沒有敵人和試探就能戰鬥。」
總主教阿維爾基評論道：「保祿以自己為榜樣，為了他人而克制個人的願望與需求，並希望格林多人也能效法他的榜樣。因此，他使用了眾人熟知的比喻 – 賽跑的運動員（格林多因其地峽運動會而聞名）以及拳擊手，他們為了贏得的只是可朽壞的冠冕，都會對一切可能使身體肥胖和虛弱的事物保持節制 … 。這正是基督徒克己生活的基礎：若不限制肉體的需求，就無法根除罪惡的慾望，也無法在靈修生活中取得成功。」
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