Double Honor

"The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching" (I Timothy 5:17). "Elder" may or may not be a term used in your church but it refers to spiritual leaders who are responsible for the general supervision of Papa's kids. And among those leaders, Paul highlights the leaders "whose work is preaching and teaching" -- preaching-teaching pastors.

"Double honor" means their work of preaching-teaching is appreciated and valued -- valued enough that they are compensated for it. However, in our society, the quarterback of a NFL team is more likely to receive "double honor" than the preaching-teaching pastor of a local church.

Diligent, disciplined, studied, prepared, gifted, anointed preacher-teachers have a short shelf-life in most churches. Their work is appreciated as long as the bottom line is met and the church is successful. But if a glitch interrupts the finances and/or attendance, the preacher-teacher becomes disposable goods. "Enough teaching. We need someone new." Which implies that we as a church have exhausted the depths of God's truth; that we know the Father as well as we want to. Therefore, we trade spiritual formation for a spiritual fix.

Paul doesn't suggest that we put hardworking preacher-teachers on a pedestal, exalt spiritual leaders, or bow in their presence. That's nonsense. Rather, Paul teaches us to honor the gift of God in a hardworking preacher-teacher. It is the gift that is worthy of double honor. It is the gift that provides spiritual meat and coaches the family of God out of infancy into spiritual maturity.

Most gifted preacher-teachers work out of a deep sense call. "Double honor" means we appreciate, value, and reward the grace of God poured out on us through the diligent work of preacher-teachers.

If we honor the gift, we honor the Giver. But if we dishonor the gift, we dishonor the Giver.

We're On The Same Road

From a human standpoint, we all walk the same road. If the road is life, then the road is the road.

However, from a spiritual viewpoint there are two distinctly different roads leading in different directions. The wide road is heavily traveled and ends in destruction. The narrow road is sparsely traveled and ends in life.

The question is how do we walk the road? Jesus said that two people can sleep in the same bed -- yet one is saved, the other lost. Two people can attend the same church -- yet one goes home saved, the other is lost. Two people can recite the same creed, give sacrificially, keep the same rules, go through the same rituals -- yet one knows God, the other does not.

How can this happen? It happens because it matters how we walk the road.

In his story, "The Good Neighbor," Jesus talked about a road between Jericho and Jerusalem. Five different people traveled that road. The first person was a innocent traveler who was robbed, beaten, and left for dead. The second the thug or thugs who attacked the man. The third a priest who looked the other way and kept walking. Followed by a Levite who mimicked the priest's actions. The last man, a half-breed, stopped and had mercy on the victim.

Five people walked the same road. What made the difference? It wasn't the road. The difference was how each person walked the road. The traveler was minding his own business. The robber was on the prowl. The priest and the Levite were too pious, too proud, too callus, too indifferent, and too afraid to get involved. Yet the Samaritan -- a social-religious outsider -- showed Papa-God's mercy.

Five people walked the same road, only one demonstrated salvation-mercy.

How do you walk the road?

What's Going On?

Daniel prophesied the literal reign of God on the earth: "And in the days of the kings the God will heaven will set up kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever" (Daniel 2:44).

Daniel saw through time to a moment in human experience when God's kingdom will displace every rival kingdom and crush the proud sovereignty of human rule. God alone will be King.

If that's true, then what's going on? Human governments still rule the earth. They call the shots, make the rules, enforce the law. Not unlike the time when Roman legions captured Jerusalem and ruled the world. It was a time when Jews believed that sovereignty belongs to God alone, therefore, the Romans were unwelcome intruders.

No wonder John the Baptizer sent his disciples to Jesus with this question: "How could Jesus bring the kingdom of God while sinful Rome remains in power?" Jesus answered, "Blessed is he who takes no offense in me." What he meant is this: The kingdom of God is here now, but instead of instead of overthrowing political kingdoms, it is overthrowing the rule of sin and Satan as it transforms the inner lives of men and women.

So, what's going on? The kingdom of God comes in two stages. Presently, God's kingdom has come quietly, unobtrusively, secretly. It works in the souls of people without calling attention to itself. The gospel of the kingdom is an offer that may be accepted or rejected. It comes with quiet persuasion not loud coercion.

However, stage two is on the way. In God's good time, at the end of the age, God will invade human history. This time He will not come quietly, but in power and great glory. God will smash every rival, destroy every political force, purge all sin and evil from the earth. And God alone will rule and reign.

That's what's going on.

Our New Trinity

A new trinity? That's right. We've created a new Trinity. Not that we completely discarded the old one -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Rather, we moved the traditional Trinity down the list in favor of our new one -- Needs, Wants, and Feelings.

On Sundays or church-days, we dress up our new Trinity as Holy Wants, Holy Needs, and Holy Feelings.

We've replaced the Three-In-One God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- with our three-in-one god: My Holy Wants, My Holy Needs, and My Holy Feelings.

The replacement doesn't shock you does it? It shouldn't because from birth we've been trained to choose for what is best for us. We rumble through our lives choosing what breakfast food we'll eat, what clothes we'll wear, what schools we'll attend, what sports we'll play, what hobbies we'll develop, what careers we'll pursue, what cars we'll drive, what image we want to present, what kind of people we want to associate with, who we'll date, who we'll marry, and what church we'll join. Life is our choice.

It doesn't take long for our self-choosing lifestyle to lead us to assume that whatever we need, want, and feel forms the core of who we are. We live self-driven lives. And the more we practice it, the better we become at it. I quickly convince myself that my needs are non-negotiable; my wants determine the size of my kingdom; my feelings express who I am. Needs, wants, and feelings form the New Trinity of my sovereign-self.

Don't get me wrong. I drag out the Old Trinity when I need God to do something for me. The Old Trinity comes in handy in church when I want others to know just how committed I am. It also helps when I pray for God to meet my needs, make me successful, and keep me happy.

But no matter what I'm doing, I'm never too far away from supporting the sovereignty of self. The lure of installing self at the center of my life is too attractive to pass up. Of course, the danger is that in so doing I miss God altogether.

No one can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). I cannot worship two gods at once. There can only be one Trinity in my life. It's my choice. What will I choose? Needs, wants, feelings or Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

Religious Silliness

In a world awash in religious silliness we need to be jolted back to spiritual reality. Paul shared this concern for the Corinthian church. "But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3).

We drift off course and don't notice it. We get over-committed and over-involved in good but lesser projects. We run in circles. We go through the same religious-motion Sunday after Sunday. Yet if we dare to take a hard look at ourselves little or nothing changes. We're the same.

We put up with religious silliness from preachers, church leaders, and fellow believers ---the ones who lead the worship, preach the sermons, teach the classes, pray, minister at the altar. Immaturity spreads like a virus. And we pretend that we're immune.

We've over-complicated Christianity. We've lost our sense of "one thing." We've been deceived; we've deceived ourselves. We've walked off -- one step at a time, one misdirection after another, one wrong turn here, another wrong turn there -- from the simplicity and purity of our devotion to Jesus Christ.

What else matters?

What else is worth our time and commitment?

How long will we stay deceived?

When does a lion stop looking like a lion? When does a Christian stop looking like a Christian?

How do we get back to reality?

We could at least be truthful before God and admit our silliness instead of redefining our religion.