Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 2:1-3:23.

“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor” (1 Corinthians 3:5-8).

I needed to hear that. How easy it is as a preacher to get caught up in competing with other preachers, especially if we have worked with the same congregation at some time. We each may want to be the favored. We may get upset if someone likes another preacher better. We may get jealous based on the results of each man’s labor. But we are all just servants. We are each doing our own work. And the work we are doing is what the Lord has given opportunity for.

Paul laid a foundation. Apollos was building on it. But neither of them were better than the other because neither of them could actually cause growth anyway. Only God causes growth. Instead of competing with other workers in the vineyard, today I must simply pursue the opportunities God has given me. That’s my job. His job is growth and I’ll leave that up to Him.

Why compete? God is the one who does the hard work. I’ll just pray for opportunities to glorify him today in my life and in the life of my fellow workers.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Matthew 23:1-24:51.

Just right out of the starting gate, today’s reading smacked me with an open can of humility.

Speaking of the Pharisees, Jesus said, “They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matthew 23:5-11).

Certainly, we go to other passages to learn that there are roles within Christ’s body. Ephesians 4:11 says God gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. There is nothing wrong with calling someone who is a teacher a teacher or who is an evangelist an evangelist. Jesus’ point was not so much about titles as it was about attitudes. 

Sadly, those of us who are evangelists, teachers, pastors or some other role can very easily jump into arrogance. We can look forward to someone introducing us, “Oh, you just have to meet my preacher.” “This is so and so, he’s one of the shepherds in our congregation.” “This is sister such and such, she’s one of our top Bible class teachers.” 

Sure, we have roles to fill within the congregation. We all have roles. But not one role is above another. There is no role that makes us higher or more important than anyone. The highest rank in Christianity is servant. 

The question for me today is not how great of a preacher I am. Rather, it is how can I serve someone today?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

P.P.S. Just a reminder: I’m sorry about being sporadic. However, my family and I are in countdown mode. In 6 weeks, we will be moving to Brownsburg, Indiana. Right now I’m covered up with working on our house and trying to get everything in order to move. That is significantly impacting my writing and internet time. Please be patient with me and keep praying for us.

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 2:1-3:23.

“I am of Paul,” some said. “I am of Apollos,” said others. Even others said, “I am of Cephas.” They all had their favorite preacher. This is not surprising. The common custom of the day in the secular world was to get behind one philosopher or another and compete against each other. “My teacher is better than your teacher.” The Corinthians were simply bringing their secular baggage into their spiritual community.

The problem is that is not the way it works in Jesus. Christ is in all, above all, and through all. That is who we are about, not one of his particular messengers. I guess because of our upcoming move, I’m hearing about more churches looking for preachers and more preachers looking for areas to work. I certainly recognize that a church can pick out a particular person because his gifts and abilities may fit well with the church’s goals and needs. Isn’t that what Barnabas did when he went to get Saul from Tarsus (Acts 11:25)?

The problem is we as Christians can get caught up in preacher competitions. “I like this guy.” “I like that guy.” “Not me, I like this other fellow.” Then we start fussing with each other about who we should really listen to. Instead of coming together in unity around God’s message, we are fighting over God’s messengers.

But what about those of us who preach? I notice that Paul did not get upset that someone liked Apollos more than him. He didn’t get upset that someone liked Peter more than him. He didn’t get excited because some folks liked him more than the others. He was upset because folks were not focusing on Jesus. Each of these men were simply servants of Jesus. We preachers must make sure we don’t give folks cause to fixate on us. Certainly, we must do the best we can and work as hard as we can because Jesus deserves our best. But we must not strive to be better than others or gain a following. There is no room for competition among us. We are all on the same team, striving for the same goal. Let us support one another and simply do the best work we can wherever God is giving us opportunity.

I’m very thankful that most of the preachers I know are striving to do exactly that. I guess I’m noticing this today because of my present circumstance and knowing how easy it is to get proud when people like you or devastated when they say they don’t. This is not about being liked, it is about glorifying God with the opportunities He provides.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?