Your "The Message" did a nicer redo than my daughter's "Precious Moments Bible". Here's their version:
Instead I "robbed" other churches by taking what they sent me, and using it up while I was with you, so that I could serve you without cost.
The quotation marks around ROBBED are theirs, not mine. I have seen other "clarifications" too. If I were to win $5.00 off of a friend on the golf course, I might say that I robbed him, in a joking kind of way. Somehow, i don't think Paul was using a "figure of speech" in his ancient tongue. Maybe ET can clarify.
First of all he couldn't have robbed them in the sense that the word is used which is "plunder, booty"....because he says he was paid wages:
2Co 11:8 I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.
Now right away that should tell you that he didn't mean "robbed" in the literal sense of the word. And if he didn't mean it in the literal sense of the word then you have to look further...right?
My biggest beef with Paul, is that his gospel doesn't work with Jesus' gospel. I don't trust what he said, or did. As I said before though, I admit that I've vascillated between wondering if he was misquoted, misunderstood, or just made up everything as he went along. Do a google search on Paul vs. Jesus. Lots of info out there.
Also, amazing to me that everyone is quick to question other religious founders who have had "epiphany" type conversions...but not Paul. We have no evidence Paul knew Jesus in the flesh, just that he had a "mystical experience". And we're supposed to take Paul's gospel(which is NOT Jesus' gospel) as God's truth. Why? Because the Constantinian church says so. It doesn't work for me anymore.