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REFLECTION

“Servant of Christ” is the theme for our reflection. A servant is a person who renders services or errands for others, especially to his or her superior or master. Paul considers himself a servant to His Lord and Master Jesus. 1 Corinthians 9 is a continuation of Paul’s admonishment of the Corinthian Christians not to abuse their freedom in Christ by eating food sacrificed to idols so that it does not lead the weaker believers in faith back to idol worship. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul essentially gives examples of the fact that as an Apostle of Christ he had rights and privileges but for the sake of Christ and winning more souls He and Barnabas gave up some of their rights as servants of Christ so that they may win more souls for the Lord. Paul by this example also shows the Christians in Corinth that they should consider themselves as servants of the Lord and also give up their rights such as eating food sacrificed for idols for the sake of saving others. “But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ…But I have not used any of these rights… that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel… Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law, I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law, I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” (1 Corinthians 9:12,15,18–23) In other words, Paul gave up His rights as an Apostle to serve the Lord by prioritising the salvation of as many as he can save through his preaching.

Dear friend, the key lesson for our reflection is that Christian leaders and faithful Christians must first and foremost understand that they are servants of Christ and their core mandate is to please their Master Jesus by doing everything possible according to the will of God to preach the Gospel and win souls. In serving the Lord or as servants of the Lord, it may become necessary to forgo our rights or sacrifice our comfort and entitlements for the sake of the Gospel. It is rather unfortunate that the motivation for some people to become servants of God is to enrich themselves and enjoy all the rights and privileges of pastoral ministry. Such people get disappointed when they become pastors or church leaders and realise that the ministry is rather an enterprise of sacrifice and discomfort. In an era of economic hardship, we are called upon to make sacrifices that will give the church some relief to be able to gather funds for other ministry and mission activities. The Church must provide the basic necessities for the pastor or evangelist and their families and also support them to preach the Gospel and to win souls. We are in hard times and it will be inconsiderate on the part of ministers or servants of Christ to demand luxury and comfort when most of their members are at the receiving end of the harsh economic hardship. We must sacrifice our rights to fly in private jets, hiring of bodyguards when attending public functions, driving in luxurious, expensive and high fuel-consuming vehicles which place financial burden on the church, meanwhile the less privileged are most hit by the economic hardship in our churches and society. Are you a pastor, a church leader or a servant of the Lord? Which rights, privileges and comforts are you ready to sacrifice or forgo for the sake of the Gospel and ministry of the Church to the poor and less privileged in these hard times? On the other hand, church members or Christians who have been blessed financially should also consider themselves servants of the Lord by blessing the ministry of the pastor and the Church towards a holistic and effective ministry in an era of economic hardship. Shalom

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, ignite the spirit of service in us and may we remain faithful to our calling as Christian leaders, church members and servants of the Lord. Amen.