v 17 Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching.
Here is another area in which honour needs to be afforded – Church Leadership. Whatever else needs to be said on the topic, Paul is mighty clear that those who give themselves to preaching and teaching need to be respected and well-paid! No room here for negotiating miserly salaries. Now a Minister can’t stand up in the pulpit, or sit down with the Treasurer, and demand a more substantial pay packet. It wouldn’t go down well with a congregation I guess! Ministers do not in general expect to be the highest earners in the congregation, but nor should they be on the bread line and struggling to put food on the table for their families.
This is about much more than money however; it is about giving respect to a person who is seeking to serve God in our Community. Proper respect can be felt by the recipient of it; it is a sense of being valued as a person and trusted to serve God in announcing Good News. It is not through platitudes expressed at the Church door after a sermon, it is often through a smile and a warm greeting that it shows.
But don’t forget – it is through the deserved pay packet too!
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