Balance in Scriptural Interpretation is Essential!
Maybe its the time of year. Perhaps, it is the return of what seems to be a traditional cycle being manifest throughout the Church that it troubling me. Many are the people who treat it like it is a sacred Biblical principle. It is a misunderstanding of what the foundation is of giving in the Kingdom.
Many ministries and Churches function almost fully on volunteer help. This has led to a misperception that is rampant. It is that anything done for God or His Church must be done as cheaply as possible and the quality does not need to be excellent.
A number of those who come to Ministries and Churches for help and wisdom, do not have what is essential to give compensation for what they receive. They come at the lowest time of their lives and consequently, those ministering to them do not receive compensation for time and effort exerted to bring them out of the situation they were caught in.
The lack in remunerating by those who can afford to, is governed by the above attitude. The passage that is ignored is where Jesus comments on work done by those who minister. He is speaking to His disciples about their traveling in ministry. In those days they were given housing, food, and other remunerations.
Luke 10:7 KJV And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
The phrase “The Labourer is worthy of his hire” has been overlooked. That this was also a problem in the early Church is addressed by James.
James 5:4 KJV Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
James calls not giving remuneration for ministry services fraud. The labourers clearly served in the harvest expecting to be remunerated, giving of of themselves to see the harvest brought in. Although we are not told what the hire/wages agreed upon were, we are told that it was kept from them.
In today’s world the people involved in the local expression of the Body have become those who expect to be served for minimal cost. This causes hardship upon the “reapers”. Often they do not have enough to make ends meet. This is especially true of the “labourer”.
A labourer is one who works until the work is done, regardless of hours put in. The best illustration of this is the farmer’s output at harvest time. It is the harvest’s need that dictates the hours. If it is hay being harvested, then the hay must be gotten in before the evening dampness comes or it will either be spoiled or have to wait until the sun has dried the dew from the next day. There are other “harvestings” that are the same. They are not governed by a 8 hour day, but by the need of, and the type of harvest that is being gathered.
In a practical application of ministry the scenaro would be that of a pastor/counselor that works with a situation until it is either stablized or settled. He/she does not necessarily count the hours or keep track of the energy expended, just as long as he/she sees the resolution of the problem. The ministry may receive thank or may not, their services and wisdom just taken for granted.
There are several Old Testament illustrations of God’s attitude toward this. In the Old Testament if one came to the prophet to receive a word of direction or ask a question, he/she brought a gift for the ministry in their hand. It was not a bribe, or a buying of the Word/service. It was an acknowledging of the need of the ministry to live as well as the one bringing the request. It seems that there was an accepted level of giving for ministry services. The judges were accused of taking bribes, would take in excess of what was normal. This would cause a judge that could be corrupted to give judgment in favor of the larger giver.
A balancing scripture to some of what is happening today, with exorbident rates being charged or cohersed out of people is:
2 Corinthians 8:12 KJV For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
Clear from this, comes an understanding that it is not the size of the gift or remuneration that is accounted. It is the thought and motivation that it is released to the ministry or servant of the Lord with.
If we come to a man or woman of God, seeking wisdom remember it is possible that this is the way they earn their living, but serving God and His people. As a ministry down through my almost 50 years, I have given countless hours to the Body of Christ. Before I learned proper priorities it even cost my family relationships. Part of that was because the family would see me giving without reservation to the “people of God” and the people of God taking advantage without giving anything natural in return.
1 Corinthians 9:11 KJV If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?
When a man or woman of God spends time with you ministering into your life and spirit, whether by presence, by social media, or by phone, stop and think. If it were a lawyer or phychiatrist you would be billed by that professional at a certain rate. Whether or not we think they would overcharge is not the issue here, it is that the children of darkness are wiser in their generation than the children of light.
Luke 16:8 KJV And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
In a conference recently Dr. Shirley Innis spoke extensively concerning stolen harvest and a number of us went up afterward for prayer concerning God’s restoring that which has been stolen from us. Her illustrative passage was from Jugdes and the days when God was calling Gideon to be the judge and leader of Israel. The Midians waited until harvest time to come up and steal the harvest that Israel had worked so hard to produce. There are people who come into our lives, after we have gone through the pain and difficulty of cultivating situations and circumstances from which God wants us to harvest wisdom. After we have received all the preciousness from what we have been through and place a value on it in the spirit, spiritual Midianites, spiritual relatives, come and steal from us the precious things that we have paid a high price for and give us nothing in return. They leave us without that to feed our family, pay our bills, and give to God and others.
One of the things that God so clearly spoke, years ago, is, “You cannot require of anyone anything you have not taught them.” Therefore, let me close with Paul’s question to the Corinthians, not as a condemntory or guilt attributing cohersive question but as a question to take back to God and ask Him what to do.
1 Corinthians 9:11 KJV If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?
Balance in understanding the spiritual meaning of the scripture is essential.
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