Paul turns things upside down in this chapter. People tend to think the better a person is, the easier things will be for them. Paul points out his and Apollos’ devotion to Jesus has caused them both to be treated poorly. Would they consider him to be a failure? Instead of determining the value of a person by how much money or power they have, the person should be judged by God.
Verse 2 lets us know God values faithfulness above everything else. We may be tempted to impress others with our stuff, like clothes or our house; or accomplishments, like degrees or our job; or a characteristic like beauty or intelligence. God wants us to consistently do what He wants us to do. That’s far more important than impressing people!