"An Elder must life a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don't have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. For an elder must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money. Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose where they are wrong."
So Paul actually writes this in several of his letters to different cities to encourage the leaders there in how they should act- so if he says it multiple time, it's obviously important!
Now I have read this multiple times and I have actually shrugged it off. I would read it, and probably with pride, thought that 1. I am not an elder so it doesn't apply and 2. that I don't really struggle with those things anyway. Sometimes I can be foolish, I will admit that now!
Well I was reading this a couple days ago and God really spoke to my heart. Not only should I be striving for these things as someone who helps lead in the church but I also, if not more importantly, as a pastors wife, should be helping my husband to be this way. He is the one in a pastoring position and, as his wife, it is my job to help him in any way that I can. To help him to be blameless, to encourage but not foster Pride or arrogance, to not be so needy that I keep him from his studies or his time with God, and, you may think this is funny, but the part that REALLY hit me was "he must enjoy having guests in his home".
I have always said "oh, well I don't have the gift of hospitality" as my excuse. I'm a homebody and I do really well with small groups and honestly, half of the time, I just don't even think about inviting people over. It's not that I don't enjoy it when it's all said and done, I just often forget about it and then don't feel like cleaning the house to my standards (the standards instilled by my mother- thanks mom!). I see now though, it's not a choice. God calls pastors to bring people into their home to fellowship and encourage them, my job as Johnny's wife is to help facilitate that. Just because I've never thought that I had that gift doesn't mean that God can't help me through it and give it to me now, to change my heart and help me through it. So that's what I'm doing. It may seem silly or like such an insignificant part of the verse but I felt really convicted! So maybe you'll be getting a dinner invitation or something like that as soon as Beckett gets better! I'll be seeing you!
2 comments:
Oh good, I was waiting for an invitation!!!
Thought provoking. Even if we are not in leadership or our husbands are not Pastors. We need to follow this example. He does not call Pastors to anything more than is expected of all His children. We are his ambassadors. Thank you for posting this.
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