Contextual views on Pauls attitude towards labour and remuneration: Did we forget the poor?

One of the problems with applications of Pauline teachings to the 21st century Southern African context is the way in which elite theologians assumed that firstcentury Mediterranean societies were similar in most crucial aspects to twentiethcentury society. At close scrutiny it is clear that the explanation of self-support and the "free offering of the gospel" from the angle of Paul's plight for the poor has been overlooked (or only referred to by implication) in commentaries, as well as discussions on "tentmakership" in Practical Theology and even in Missiology. This study is investigating the possible role that the context of the readers played in this oversight.