By Ken Parks, 02/18/2014
Most of us take on responsibilities of
supporting our families and ourselves without becoming a burden on
society. The Apostle Paul felt the same way and had written in his
epistles his actions of being an example of a worker both in labor
and in ministry.
Surely
you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked
night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached
the gospel of God to you. (1 Thessalonian 2:9, NIV)
Paul had a great concern for the
Thessalonian people. He performed physical labor in the making and
mending of tents. Although this letter does not specify the type of
work, but we know from Acts 18:3 that Paul was a tent-maker. So,
the presumption is that he used this vocation to support himself. He
bought his own food, paid for a place to lay his head at night, and
any other expenses.
He was not a burden.
He did not ask for “tithes and
offerings.” And as Paul labored , he ministered the word of God.
He did not establish or participate in javelin or discus throwing
ministry or chariot racing ministry. He did not set up a singing or
music ministry. He did not create a tea ministry. And, he did not
provide a water ministry.
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| Most purported ministers often beg for money via the tithe doctrine. |
Paul, as a good steward, brought forth
only one ministry, the ministry to preach everlasting life through
Jesus Christ. And he did so without being a burden to others. He
did not try to take advantage of others by means of “contributions”
or “donations.” He did not write his epistles for the purpose of
producing copies to sell for financial gain.
Paul was productive; he contributed to
being self-supportive. The Thessalonian saw this as an example of
not being a burden to their people.
nor did
we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we
worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a
burden to any of you. (2 Thessalonian 3:8, NIV)
The message here is simple: We are not
to be a financial burden to others while ministering the Word of God.
For the most part, so-called ministers
believe in the tithe doctrine. They expect to be paid for the
service of preaching. And they pressure the members of their
religious organization to open their wallets and contribute to their
cause, “Come on people! This is a business!”
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| A $3.8 million pipe organ was built into the church business' place of worship. |
Most people may not know this small bit
of information: More than 80% of the contributions by means of “tithe
and offerings” goes toward the salary of the preacher and his
staff. The balance goes to pay for the utilities, the building fund
or whatever. And less than 3% is used to give to the needy.
I have a saying, “Give to the
needy... not the greedy.”
Paul wrote and explained that if we
reap material things from others and not be self-supportive, then we
hinder the gospel of Christ. Please refer to 1 Corinthians 9:11.
Today, most so-called ministers fail to see the importance of Paul's
teaching on this important subject. Instead, they are a continual
financial burden and bring disgrace to the gospel of Christ.
The Apostle Paul set up an example for
real Christians, those who are part of Ekklesia, to not be a
financial burden to others.
