1 Peter 5:2 “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight . . . not for shameful gain, but eagerly”
As Peter comes to the close of his first epistle, he speaks to pastors. He tells them about some critical considerations regarding their ministry, and in particular, he addresses the issue of motives. He has already told them that their ministry is to be one that is done willingly rather than under compulsion. It’s not to ever be seen as something they are doing for God because they just have to. Service to Christ is never to be forced. Jesus’ kingdom does not advance by jihad. We don’t serve Him because we have a gun to our head. No, anyone who truly serves Christ is to do so willingly, gratefully, with a motive of love. There is no other way.
But then Peter gives another caution. He tells them that they are not to serve with a motive of “shameful gain.” In other words, they are not to be motivated by money. They are to shepherd the people for whom God has made them responsible, not fleece them. It was the same warning that Paul had given to his protégé Timothy when he said a mark of false teachers is that they are those who “imagin(e) that godliness is a means of gain” (1 Timothy 6:5). It’s a sign of a wicked, rather than a godly, heart, and God has no time for it.
Yet, have you noticed what seems to be the primary focus of so much of what we see paraded across “Christian” TV. One after another we see preachers urging people to “sow their seeds (i.e., money)” into their ministry with the promise that God will richly provide them with lots of money in return. All the while it is nothing more than a scheme of these pastors to line their own pockets. Just read about them. The information isn’t hard to find. So many are marked by incredible wealth, the finest cars, mansions built behind gates and walls, private jets, and the list goes on. But what amazes me more than the brashness of these heretics is the thousands that follow them as the means for their luxury! I am amazed by how gullible such people are. I’m continually dumbfounded by their ignorance of the Scriptures, all while they purport to be followers of Christ.
But this should never be. Believers are to be discerning students of the Bible. They are to compare everything they hear with the Word of God. We are to be like the Christians in the city of Berea, who we are told were “more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). And we are to be those who scrutinize what we hear with the directive given by the apostle Paul who was astonished by the gullibility of the church at Galatia. To this church he said, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8-9).
So, if you are a believer, to whom are you listening? Are you one that is continually mesmerized by those who are the very ones who Peter described in no uncertain terms in the passage above? Are you examining the things that come from their mouths by studying the Scriptures for yourself, or are you simply taking what someone tells you at face value (including anything I might say in these posts)? If not, you should be, for there are many who think “godliness” is nothing more than a means to financial gain. But those who think like that aren’t following God at all. As Jesus declared plainly, a person will love either God or money and a close examination of their words and life will reveal the truth about what that is.
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