May 14 - Elder's Responsibility

May 14 - Elder's Responsibility - 1 Timothy 5:17-20

Diane says:
Who is going to have to take responsibility when things are tough within the church? The elders. These men were required to take on leadership roles as well as the responsibility of preaching and teaching. In many cases, Paul did not take money from the churches unless they were very stable financially, but he did tell them that they should care for their leaders. In fact, if an elder was doing a great job, they should double his pay.

He quotes two passages in 1 Timothy 5:18. The first is from Deuteronomy 25:4 (Paul used it in 1 Cor. 9:9 as well) and the second refers to Leviticus 19:13, Deuteronomy 24:15 or even Jesus' words in Matthew 10:10 or Luke 10:7. Paul strongly believed that a congregation did not have the right to refuse to offer pay to their elders.

Paul goes on to describe the only way an accusation should be brought against an elder. Opposition to God's work in the church will always be strong, but only if there are two or three witnesses is it to be allowed to progress any further. Anything else is simply slander. And when the sin is brought forth, it can then be publicly rebuked.

Rebecca says:
My last Pastor lived in a gated community and drove a Mercedes Benz. His children went to private school and his wife drove a Jaguar. It seemed to be a point of controversy among those in the church and those just looking in. The main points of disdain were that the people in the church didn’t think their tithes should be supporting his luxury car habit and the ones out of the church felt that he should be living in sandals and sleeping on the ground like Jesus since he was a pastor.

I don’t understand either of those arguments. Tithing is supposedly God’s portion, so if we are trying to dictate where that portion should go then it’s not really God's, is it? This makes it really more like a tax if we believe we have some vote into how it is spent. And as far as the whole 'live like Jesus' mantra of the anti-Mercedes chorus, what I want to ask is, "does this also mean that unless you are born in a stable you cannot preach the word of God?" Jesus lived the life he lived as meagerly as He lived because He had to. He needed to be a man that had nothing more to offer except his life which he gave freely in every regard. To compare Jesus to a leader in the church is to lump together one very golden delicious apple with a bunch of hairy kiwi fruits. Why would the world expect our leaders to live like Him when He doesn’t expect that?

Often times we don't stop to think about what it must be like to wear the shoes of a leader in the church. The burden, the weight, the mindset, and the sacrifice it must take to fulfill such a role. You can only do it if you are called, that's for certain. I think of the weight I feel in my calling as a mother, friend, and sister and I cannot imagine how a father of a church handles the burden he feels for his congregants. His family must make sacrifices, his life must be one of discipline, and he must endure public scrutiny, all for the sake of shepherding a flock of God’s children who are just sitting around and judging him for his choice in vehicles and suits.

Why do we fall into the trap of believing humility goes hand in hand with poverty? Why do we believe we are asked to “sell all we have” like that rich young man to be accepted as spiritual? Yes, there are some called to a life of poverty, but once again it is a calling. Unless it is placed on you by God, it is a sin to assume that is the path you must take. But it is not for every believer, there are many biblical examples of great men of God that were filthy stinking rich.

Abraham was one of the wealthiest individuals I have read about and he was a friend to God. Job, though he had it taken away at one point was restored to twice the blessed state he started with. Solomon was loaded, Joseph didn’t do too badly, and the list goes on and on. So why do we expect our leaders to live the life of John and not Abraham?

God has designed and orchestrated a path for each of us and for some that path is lined with gold and for others it is mere gravel, but it was created lovingly by Him, He has given us the "exact places we should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him" (Acts 17:26-27). He has a plan for each of us including our leaders and we are wrong to try to determine what path a leader should take or where he should live.

God's got it and we show our faith in that by supporting the leaders in our life that He blesses us with. If we can so easily be the hands and feet of God then why can’t we also willingly be the ATM card and payroll for Him also? Why does it get so much harder when it involves money? They are men called by God and we must value them as such even when our minds or ears tell us differently, only God can remove that mantle and when we try to, we not only let Him down, but frustrate the work of God.

Paul knew that and it is why he encouraged us to be pillars of support to the Elders, financially and otherwise. To treat them kindly and with respect and hold them up, not knock them down with our shifting opinions of their right and wrong. When a leader feels the love and support of a congregation backing him, the world is better served, his calling is magnified and stretched, and greater strides can be made for the work of our Father. And when it comes down to it, isn’t that much more important than my pastor's Mercedes Benz?