Monday, September 9, 2019

A Word to Those Who Preach

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.  Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.  Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you.  Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress.  Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching.  Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.  1 Timothy 4:12b-16

If you have never had a weight problem you can probably skip this devotion and go on to the funny papers.  There is that moment of panic at every doctor’s appointment when you’re waiting in the waiting room, and your name is called out.  The panic arrives because the time has arrived when the intake person will say quite flatly as you’re being led down the hallway, let’s just stop here and let you get on the scale.  I want to snap back, uh…LET me get on the scale?  What makes you think I WANT to do that?  And who put you in charge of how much I weigh.  Frankly that’s none o’ yer dang business!
But I don’t say any of that.  I just get on the dreaded scale and take my lumps.  (Mind you, I was thinking it – was guilty of the rage – so I don’t get any points for moderation of my temper – only perhaps longsuffering…VERY long)!
So, what does being annoyed at my doctor’s office have to do with preaching?  In a word, EVERYTHING!  The scenario I just described also illustrates the chief element of Paul’s advice to his young preaching protégé, Timothy, namely keeping your actions in line, even when you don’t feel like it.  If someone has been preaching for more than a little while, that preacher understands the weight of being observed by the world’s critics.  The community wants to know if the living is going to live-up to the preaching.  If it doesn’t, the things you do will speak so loudly, no one will hear what you say.
Timothy was young, very young.  And Timothy was gifted with a command of the Scriptures – sufficient enough for Paul to sign his ordination certificate.  But in this passage, Paul makes sure to cover the ground rules of ethical living.  Paul knew that knowledge is a good thing, but knowing must be held in the cradle of pure motive, AND actions.  What you say and what you do must be held in close proximity. 
Now, no preacher is perfect in either heart or actions, and those of us who preach do well to stay off the pedestal that some want us to ascend; that never ends pretty!  But, says the apostle Paul, your main job, if you’re going to preach an unhindered Gospel is to work toward that perfection, even while you’re avoiding the pedestal!
For You Today
If you’re the type that preaches, or if you’re a preacher-watcher, remember to cut him or her some slack – at the bottom line a preacher is a struggling sibling of yours in Christ.  If you want to be kind, just don’t ask him to get on the scale!
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day. 

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of  By Johnsnow1234 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons     Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

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