|
HOUSMAIL HM038 20
September 1999 MORE ABOUT "GIVING WITHOUT PAY" Following
my earlier posting of HOUSMAIL HM037 on this subject, some private
correspondents have raised some valid points which touch on questions going
beyond the main subject I was trying to cover. (Which was "selling the
Gospel") I
thought it worthwhile to condense some of that into a single general question
which addresses the main points. QUESTION: How
about soliciting funds to support missionaries who preach, teach, heal, and
coordinate relief efforts overseas? Are not those who preach entitled to live
off the gospel? 1 Corinthians 9:14 ANSWER: There
is certainly specific Scriptural warrant for asking Christians to contribute
to the relief of the CHRISTIAN poor. (2 Corinthians 8 & 9) However
it is worth emphasising that the example of Jesus is clearly NOT a warrant
for establishing permanent Christian "soup kitchens", or other
welfare agencies, for those who want only "loaves and fishes",
without the Gospel. (John 6:26-27,66) It
is no more than simple common sense that those who give, might also need to
find a way to oversee the distribution of what they give, and cover those
costs as part of their giving. However that is NOT specifically discussed in
what Paul says to the Corinthians! I
can't believe for a moment that Paul had anything in mind, which even
remotely resembled things like huge real estate investments for office
buildings in the high end of the market, or luxury cars, and first class
airfares, and 5 star hotel accommodation for high powered executives! And his
own example certainly isn't a "role model" for the operations of
HUGE Christian relief empires, where overheads of the "best"
consume about 20% of what is given, and in the "less than best" are
sometimes so high that only about 20 cents in the dollar actually reaches
those for whom it was given! There
is a similar warrant for encouraging BELIEVERS to support itinerant preachers
who were travelling in the service of God. (3 John
1:5-6) However
this same passage specifically rejects the acceptance of donations towards that
work, from UNBELIEVERS. And it is JOHN asking ..... not the workers themselves!
The significant point is that what John says here, reinforces the command from
Jesus for BELIEVERS to GIVE THE GOSPEL free of charge to unbelievers. Paul
does say that Jesus authorised those who preach the Gospel to live off the Gospel.
(1 Corinthians 9:14) However what Jesus actually said about that, is found in Matthew 10:7-10 - "Give without
pay"! And - "the labourer deserves his food"! And Luke 10:7 - "In the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as
they give: for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go
not from house to house." (RSV) It is
worth remembering here that Luke travelled with Paul. It seems obvious that his
Gospel records it as he must have heard it preached by Paul on many occasions.
So when Paul says that Jesus authorised preachers to live off the Gospel, it reflects
his own preaching that for Jesus, "living off the Gospel" meant no more
than food and lodging! However,
Paul also says that he went out of his way not to take advantage of even that
much from those to whom he preached! For
instance he reminds the Corinthians that he did not take any support at all from
them. (1 Corinthians 9:12) At Corinth he clearly followed Matthew
10:8! There
he "worked with his own hands" as a tentmaker (1 Corinthians 4:12, Acts 18:3) and received support
from BELIEVERS in other Churches (2 Corinthians 11:8) in order to make the Gospel FREE OF CHARGE. (1 Corinthians 9:18) At Ephesus
Paul refused to ask for money and clothes. (By the way, he called that coveting!)
Instead he set an example by "ministering to his necessities with his own
hands". (Acts 20:34) At Thessalonica
Paul did receive a gift from the Church at Philippi, for which his thanks are
recorded in Philippians 4:14-18. However that does NOT appear to have been his main support, for
he reminds the Thessalonians that he "worked night and day, that we might
not burden any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of God". (1 Thessalonians 2:9) All
of these statements by Paul serve to reinforce the extent of the far reaching
command from Jesus that, except for food and lodging (and in practice, NOT ALWAYS
EVEN THAT!) the Gospel is to be given "without pay" from the hearers. Alas
..... in our time the emphasis has been shifted almost completely away from Paul's
EXAMPLE of how to "FREELY GIVE", to concentrate instead on the justification
and mechanics of ensuring that Gospel workers are "being paid"! With
some notable exceptions, most "Missionary Philosophy" today seems to
concentrate much more on the necessities required to live in long term WESTERN
comfort in a third world culture, rather than contemplating and committing to
a potential early martyrdom! And
in too many places "tentmaking" has become almost completely a lost
art! Of course,
if there was more of Paul's method and less of the modern alternative, it would
probably result in far fewer candidates "hearing the call" to enter
full time Christian work! It might
reduce the pool of aspirants who are sometimes used by leaders of Church organisations
to build empires, rather than witness effectively for the Gospel. It might sort
out a little better, the difference between those who are TRULY called, and those
who are driven by their own ambition! And it would certainly ensure that many
were never able to enter positions for which they were not truly qualified. And
for God, THAT wouldn't be a disaster at all! Allon |