September 8, Tuesday Devotion

1 Corinthians 9:3-14

³ This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. ⁴ Don’t we have the right to food and drink? ⁵ Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? ⁶ Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?

⁷ Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? ⁸ Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? ⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? ¹⁰ Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. ¹¹ If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? ¹² If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?

But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. ¹³ Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

Quick Notes

Is is common to expect things for nothing, or at least for a greatly reduced price. We go to stores refusing to pay too much for something we need while accepting the stuff we want at a not-so-great deal. There is a mentality out there that anyone can do a pastor's job, so there is no reason to pay them too much. Of course, no one really wants the pastor's job but many times that is not too important. Paul is saying that if there is a fellow person who is care taking your soul, you should play a part in taking care of them.

Quick Questions

How often do you show appreciation to your pastor? Do you just say something or give something as well?

Quick Prayer

Lord, let me give to those who need by your grace. Amen.