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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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1 Timothy 5:17-20
“The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, ‘Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,’ and ‘The worker deserves his wages.’ Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.”
An elder, an overseer is a delegated leader of God. They are recognised by Him and directly responsible to Him. It is an awesome responsibility.
They do not need the flock to stifle, criticise or make their job any more difficult. The full-time ‘staff’ often spends more time ‘working for the Church’ than others spend working for their secular employer. It is not unusual for a Sunday sermon to take 8 hours specific preparation. A good rule of thumb is 12 times the output (e.g., 45-minute sermon usually takes about 8 hours preparation).
The early church apostles appointed deacons so they could devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word (see Acts 6:4). Today, too many ‘ministers’ are shackled by ‘other duties’ or through the pressure of limited finance. Neither are God’s intentions.
Usually, it is because as a church family, we have neither offered help (you have to do it – that is what we pay you for) nor finance – they work for the Lord, let Him be their provider – (forgetting that God uses us to provide for them).
Notice Paul doesn’t expect them to have special favours. Under Jewish custom – no one could be accused except by 3 or more witnesses. Here, like today, it would seem that some were getting a rough deal. Just because they are the Lord’s servants doesn’t mean we can criticise them without cause or evidence. Beware – the enemy within the church is often far more active than the one without. How often gossip about a leader is lapped up without even checking its veracity.
If there is something to answer for, they need to be censored like anyone else, and if really necessary, publicly rebuked but let’s treat them the same as anyone else – with dignity and grace. They bear even greater responsibilities before God as His shepherds. So, as with everyone else, let us treat them as and believe them to be ‘innocent’ until ‘proved guilty.’
God usually exposes wrong in His leaders in due time and yes, we must deal with the issues but let us not gloat over them, for as the saying goes, “There but for the grace of God, go I.” We are all human, with faults, failings and idiosyncrasies which offend others, but let us never forget either – the things that really upset us are so often those things that we ourselves are not very good at. We hate looking in a mirror.
As Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:1-2).
Rather, let’s pray God’s richest blessings upon our leaders and encourage them the best we can.
Remember – they are usually the ones God uses to encourage and build you up the most.
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