1 Timothy 5:17-18
Eternity Online: John Edmiston (Editor)
Eternity-Inspiration for Wednesday 11th March 1998
1 Timothy 5:17-18
(1 Tim 5:17-18 NKJV) Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy
of double honour, especially those who labour in the word and doctrine.
{18} For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it
treads out the grain," and, "The labourer is worthy of his wages."
Let me say at the outset of today's devotional that I am not just
saying this out of my own economic situation - I have got
"middle-aged Christian worker disease" and am currently a member of
a dozen or so boards. I feel a deep pastoral responsibility for
those under my care. My comments about paying Christian workers
properly comes from experience with over 30 Christian organisations
and the situations I have observed there.
Verses 17 & 18 indicate plainly that Christian workers should be
remunerated by those that are the recipients of the ministry and that
they are worthy of "double honour" - that is double pay. People are
not a tenth as tough as they would like to think. Many want to
minister without economic considerations and to "sacrifice for
Jesus" but when the bills pile up it can be heart-breaking. Poverty
is a calling and should not be a compulsion. Some are happy being
poor, some such as monastics want to be poor, however we should not
compel Christian workers to be poor. The toughness of ministry
should be from opposition from without not stinginess from within.
This injunction is no "one-off" instruction. Elsewhere Paul is quite
plain about pastoral remuneration (1 Cor 9:9-14 NKJV) For it is
written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it
treads out the grain." Is it oxen God is concerned about? {10} Or
does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt,
this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who
threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. {11} If we have
sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your
material things? .. {13} Do you not know that those who minister the
holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at
the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? {14} Even so the
Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from
the gospel.
Too many Christian workers receive a pittance while the congregation
lives quite wealthily. It is seen as "more spiritual" for
missionaries and pastors to be poor. But try and find this in the
Bible! Never is poverty enjoined on God's servants. In fact the
constant theme is "remember the Levites". God is honoured when his
servants are honoured. My 1996-97 taxable income was less than $5000
Australian (about $3500 USD). I am amazed that I managed to live!
Many people in Australia leave the ministry because they receive far
too little to live on or to support a family. For every rich American
evangelist there are 1000 struggling preachers, missionaries and
pastors. Many Third World pastors exist on salaries as low as $5 a
month! This is Satan at work cutting the supply lines to the servants
of God! The biblical response is to pay them properly. While low
wages filter out the fakes they also filter out many good people as
well. Good wages would attract good workers and we could trust the
denominational boards to spot the fakes and weed them out.
The other consideration is the vast need - we want to employ as many
pastors/missionaries as possible with the donor's dollar so we
underpay them so we can afford a few more. In the end this is
actually harmful. People leave the ministry earlier if they feel
underpaid. Lets do the maths - 100 staff for 2 years each plus
a high cost of recruitment, staff turnover and disrupted
programs or 50 staff for ten to fifteen years each working
fruitfully. Give me the second scenario any day! You cannot build
quality ministry with angry, resentful and underpaid staff.
God was not unwise when He instructed Paul to write about the
remuneration of God's servants. But like many of His economic
injunctions we tend to slip around this one. Lets give it some
serious thought and work out how we can better remunerate the people
that labour in the Word to bring us blessings. We may have to have
less fancy church buildings or a slower rate of organisational
expansion but the reward of happy productive long-term staff will be
well worth it.
PS: Please do not interpret today's devotional as me giving you a
subtle hint. That is not intended. Thanks.
Prayer:
Money is a hard topic Lord. Our egos get tied up in it, our greed and
selfishness as well. Please help us to be wise with it and to invest
it so that it brings us eternal rewards. Thank You for those who give
generously. Help us to treat Your servants well and so to honour You.
Amen.
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John Edmiston ([email protected])
Editor - Eternity Online Magazine http://www.eternity-magazine.org/
Cults, exegesis, bible teaching, Christian life and leadership.
For the thinking Christian!
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