Seeing the Need

After writing More Best Robes, I was haunted with where the scripture was that said Satan was the accuser of the brethren...well, I didn't have a concordance handy and couldn't find it on my own...then it came to me...google it! Revelation 12:10, right there in plain sight. I should have thought of that. So if you are on your computer or need to find a verse, google it with all of the words you can think of in the order you can and you will be amazed that they are found pretty easily.

Not satisfied that that was the only verse, I looked at some other references, which took me to 1 Corinthians 4 about not judging people before the Lord comes, because that is when all of men's hearts will be disclosed and God will PRAISE them. Not condemn them, but praise them. Whew. See how Satan condemns us...I had always looked at those verses as -see, He's gonna show everyone just how rotten you really were...but after those fires burn away the wood, hay, and stubble, He praises and rewards, not condemns. What a merciful Father, looking for the good and rewarding those who live for His glory.

And just down the page was a scripture that had caught my eye...I am now marking my Bible up when I find any passage about clothing, etc...anyway, 1 Corinthians 4:11-13. So that is where we go today. “To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless, and we toil, working with our own hands;when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world (earth), the dregs of all things, even until now.

Ok, this seems to be a far cry from the verses before it. He tells us that God is going to reward him greatly at the return of Christ, and then says that nothing is going right in the here and now. He is poor and poorly clothed. He has to work hard to make enough to live on, and others look down on him, tear apart his reputation, and think he is the worst thing in the world. The scum of the earth. Now the Apostle Paul is the last person I would have thought would be described that way. When we use that term, we think of child molesters or people who scam old folks out of their life savings. But this was how he was accused by people IN THE CHURCH! After all he had done for them, bringing them the gospel, establishing the church, teaching and preaching and requiring nothing from their hands, they didn't even clothe the man nor feed him. He calls them his children and he their father. He gave up everything for them and received nothing in return. He warns those in scripture throughout that they should not preach for gain, but in the church one should never be left to preach and have to eek out a living. He says he has learned to be content in all circumstances in Phil 4: 12-14, but here he can say that they did try to help him. Finally in 1 Timothy 5: 17-18, he instructs them to take good care of their elders who rule well, their spiritual leaders that preach and teach and work hard at it, leaving them no time to carry on a regular job. They should receive double honor. They should not be working hard for their spiritual benefit without receiving more than a mouthful of the grain they are treading.

My husband joking says that most small churches have the philosophy, the Lord will keep them humble and we will keep them poor. These ministers of the gospel are expected to fulfill their ministry duties on top of a full time job to feed their families. More than one has given up the calling because they wear themselves out doing everything for everybody and they are not appreciated for it.

Is your pastor's family in a position of need? Thankfully, we appreciate our pastor and elders, and offerings are often taken to meet their needs if something arises, or they given testimony of how someone gave to them not knowing that a need had arisen! This is how it should be. When God shows us needs in the lives of spiritual workers, we need not think that God is testing them, but that He is giving opportunity for us to come along side and meet those needs. Let us be like Philippi, and not like Cornith in our provision for those who are our spiritual fathers, and for others who lead around the world. Their clothing may be one indicator of the level of their need, but not the only one. Let us clothe, encourage, and see that they are not exhausting themselves to bring the gospel to a needy world.