Friday, May 16, 2014

Honor Where Honor is Due. Psalms 71-72; First Timothy 5

May the mumbling commence!

Political leaders are to honor God.  We are supposed to honor our leaders.  In the meantime, God is honored and blessed by these relationships.  Read from the end of Psalm Seventy-two:

He will rescue the poor when they cry to him;
he will help the oppressed,
who have no one to defend them. 
He feels pity for the weak and the needy,
and he will rescue them
He will save them from oppression and from violence,
for their lives are precious to him. 

Long live the king!
May the gold of Sheba be given to him.
May the people always pray for him and bless him all day long. 
May there be abundant crops throughout the land,
flourishing even on the mountaintops.
May the fruit trees flourish as they do in Lebanon,
sprouting up like grass in a field. 
May the king's name endure forever;
may it continue as long as the sun shines.
May all nations be blessed through him and bring him praise

Bless the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does such wonderful things. 
Bless his glorious name forever!
Let the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and amen! (Verses 12-19)

At its best, political leadership looks out for the vulnerable by rescuing them and saving them.  Compassion is the greatest tool of a political leader.  The most vulnerable people are the most precious to a godly political leader.

In return, we are to give our support to the political leaders of our day.  Pay those taxes.  Pray for our leaders.

To combine these two things is to make sure that life will flourish for all people.  And that will bring glory to God.  For without God, these things could never happen.

The same is true of our leaders in church.  Read from First Timothy chapter five:

Elders who do their work well should be paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching.  For the Scripture says, "Do not keep an ox from eating as it treads out the grain." And in another place, "Those who work deserve their pay!" 
Do not listen to complaints against an elder unless there are two or three witnesses to accuse him.  Anyone who sins should be rebuked in front of the whole church so that others will have a proper fear of God. (Verses 17-20)

Let’s hold one another accountable and give credit where credit is due.

Enough mumbling for now…


Peace Out

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