From the Pulpit...

Paul's situation is not exactly applicable today, for he was an apostle, not a regular pastor. The "necessity laid upon" him was that Christ had personally told him to minister the gospel. His was no merely internal compulsion to preach or subjective call. It was completely objective, and if he did not, it was "woe" for him. But his attitude is nevertheless instructive for us. Ministers today have no problem with the command that those who preach the gospel should get their living fro the gospel. What is more difficult is practicing Paul's attitude of "I won't demand my rights." When it comes to pay, if some ministers did not get paid, they would quit. All would find it far more difficult to minister, and some ministry would be left undone. But the point is more about the attitude. We have rights, but are we willing to give them up theoretically and even in practice when needed to advance God's work? Or are we more about "me" that "HE"? Is the gospel important enough to make us willing to endure hardship and inconvenience for its sake? Is it important enough that we do not mind being reviled, or mischaracterized, or less well off because of it?