First Timothy 3:2-3
Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband
of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable,
able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome,
not a lover of money.
Who’s Standard for Leaders?
When Paul was giving the qualifications for a pastor or overseer (the
same thing), he set the bar pretty high, but it should be because they
are to be above reproach; however, it wasn’t really Paul’s standard but
God’s. We must use this standard in 1 Timothy 3 in our church to see if a
man is qualified to be a pastor. We don’t use our own ideas because God
looks at the heart (1 Sam. 16:7), and since we can’t see into the human
heart, God set a written standard so we could read and know what that
standard is for those who would desire to be a pastor (1 Tim. 3:1). A
deacon of a church is set to much the same standard (1 Tim. 3:11-12).
These biblical standards are not man’s ideas but come straight from God
Himself. We must uphold and pray for our spiritual leaders to be
conformed into God’s standards and not our own because our own standards
are human-generated and, therefore, are fallible and capable of being
in error.
Judging by Sight
I heard a true story of a new pastor who had just moved into town. He
was visiting with a prospective member in an apartment that was
adjacent to a bar. The bar and the apartment apparently shared the same
hallway where the staircase was, so when two women saw the pastor walk
into the entrance to visit a prospective member, they thought he was
going into the bar. Someone who was seated in the park spotted him
coming out, and they thought that he walked like he’d been drinking. The
word got around town and came back to the pastor that several people
from the community saw him go into the bar and came out looking a bit
tipsy. What had actually happened was that the pastor had apparently
tweaked his knee on the way down the stairs and had a limp when he came
out of the building. People had judged by sight and assumed that he’d
been drinking. Instead of praying for this new pastor to be conformed to
God’s written standard, they had gossiped about him and judged him
unworthy according to their own standard. See the problem here? One has
to wonder if the pastor’s first sermon was on gossip.
Failing to Pray Is Sin?
When Samuel was giving his farewell address to the nation of Israel,
they asked him to pray for God’s servants since they had sinned (1 Sam.
12:19). In one of the most memorable statements that Samuel ever uttered
and given at the time near his departure, he said far be it from him if
he failed to pray for them (1 Sam. 12:23). Apparently, Samuel saw it as
sin to not pray for the servants of Israel. We should be praying for
our spiritual leaders consistently but also praying for them to be
conformed to God’s standards and not our own human standards, for God’s
standards are the only ones that count.
A Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father God, thank You for the church leadership. I pray for
those who are now in places of leadership, that they would live up to
and be conformed to Your standard alone and not my own. In the name of
the precious Savior, Jesus Christ, I pray.
Amen
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