Open The Word | Fungua Neno

⏱️ 5 minutes.

Greetings, friends,

Today, let us start the week by receiving instruction from the apostle Paul regarding how we must conduct ourselves when delivering the gospel:

For you remember, brothers, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
— 1 Thessalonians 2:9

As he opens this letter to the church in Thessalonica, Paul reminds the church of how he labored day and night so as not to become a burden to any of them.

While it was common practice for most who delivered the gospel to receive aid from those they ministered to, Paul and his partners went to great lengths to avoid asking for alms from the people they served.

We know from the narratives of Luke that the labor Paul refers to here is that of tent-making. To make money, Paul made tents alongside Priscilla and Aquila.

After these things he departed Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, and his wife Priscilla, who recently came from Italy because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers.
— Acts 18:1-3

Such was also the case for his ministry to the church in Corinth. Paul said he was willing to forgo the privileges he had as an apostle to earn a living from sharing the gospel. He did this so that no one could make his boast an empty one.

So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel. But I have used none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case, for it would be better for me to die than have anyone make my boast an empty one.
— 1 Corinthians 9:14-15

This was not the only privilege Paul was foregoing. There were other apostolic privileges that Paul had as an apostle of Christ, but because he wanted his ministry to solely focus on the gospel message, he chose not to hold on to these liberties.

Do we not have authority to eat and drink? Do we not have authority to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?
— 1 Corinthians 9:4-5

However, he realized that sometimes the giving of alms interfered with his ministry. He said that such practice might lead to people boasting that they were enabling his ministry, and he wanted that kind of praise to go only to God.

To emphasize this point, he makes a statement in his letter to the Philippians, telling them that he is not really in need of their gifts:

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
— Philippians 4:11

We should understand that there’s nothing wrong with a minister of the gospel being honored for his ministry. Paul gave such instruction to Timothy as he was guiding him on how to set up the church.

The elders who lead well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor at preaching the word and teaching.
— 1 Timothy 5:17

Even Paul himself understood that it is okay to honor those who minister to the congregation, especially in the word and teaching.

However, like every other thing, the world has a way of defiling that which was intended to be pure. There is a danger that comes with this kind of practice. When misused, it could lead to the elders of the church and leaders of such ministries burdening the congregants and the flock.

This is what Paul is sharing with the church in Thessalonica. He is saying that he doesn’t want his ministry to be a burden to the people.

We live in a world today where it is common for ministers of the gospel to become a burden to the flock. Instead of focusing on delivering the gospel message, they focus on what they can extract from the people.

We are called to be ministers of the gospel. However, in doing so, let us not focus on the sordid gain that supposedly comes from sharing the gospel. As he warns Timothy regarding false teachers, he tells him that such false teachers teach a different doctrine and “suppose that godliness is a means of gain” (1 Timothy 6:5).

As we go out to share the gospel, let us keep these things in mind:

• We are all called to share the gospel. This is our primary task as believers.
• As we share the gospel, let us be careful not to burden the flock by exercising our privileges.
• Let us not misuse the opportunity of sharing the gospel and assume that it is a means of sordid gain.

I pray that these instructions remind us to remain humble and focused on sharing the Word of God.

Your fellow worker,
Paul