This passage is often misinterpreted as a universal prohibition against compensating church leaders, overlooking Paul's prior affirmation that spiritual workers deserve financial support and his explicit statement that he is not mandating others to imitate him; another error is condemning Paul's 'glorying' as arrogant pride, when it actually signifies his justified confidence in a preaching ministry unhindered by financial dependence, tailored to the Corinthians' context to avoid scandalizing them.
I Corinthians 9:15
King James Version (1769)
15 But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void.
Paul declares his deliberate choice not to exercise his apostolic right to material support from the Corinthians, insisting that he would rather die than let anyone nullify his boast of preaching the gospel without charge, underscoring his profound commitment to the purity and progress of his ministry by removing any potential accusation of self-serving motives and exemplifying selfless service in spreading the gospel.