Love Your Pastor

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 – Love Your Pastor

As Paul brings this letter to a close, he fills the parchment with as many words of wisdom that he can. His desire is to see the church continue to prosper, to receive God’s blessings, and to reach lost people with the gospel. To do that, these Christians needed to follow the godly leadership in their church. At no time should Christians follow blindly; that is how false prophets cause so many problems. But when God places His man as the undershepherd of the flock, the people must follow his leadership. Not only are they to recognize the man as the leader, but also they are to “esteem them very highly in love….”

When I started out in ministry 36 years ago, pastors were highly esteemed. They were respected. Honored. I don’t know if they did polls like they do today, but back then a pastor would be considered one of the most trustworthy persons in the community. He would probably rank as number 1. Pastors were always highly regarded. Not any more. Pastors rank much farther down. I know that it is because of so many pastors falling from grace. Sadly, these stories spread rapidly, but the truth of the matter is that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. Not even Paul was perfect. So it isn’t that we are to expect our pastors to live sinless lives, but they are to demonstrate godly living and follow the practices of the Bible: godly sorrow that leads to repentance when we sin, humility before our people, a willingness to turn the other cheek. Too many Christians, including pastors and denominational leaders, are willing to ignore these principles when they are “hurt.” Too many immediately consider the legal system as an option to get their pound of flesh. And Jesus told us not to push back. When He was crucified, He could have spoken a word and destroyed His enemy. Instead, the words He spoke were words of forgiveness and grace. We need to be like Him.

It is too easy to become disenchanted when we see men who are supposed to represent Christ living in sin. But Paul says to honor and follow these men God has placed in spiritual leadership over us. In other words, just because there are some pastors who do horrible things, it doesn’t mean all of us do. Give your pastor the respect he earns.