Saturday, November 13, 2010
This passage in 1 Timothy has been something that I have always struggled with in my mind, not for any particular reason, but I have been unsure of it's meaning recently:
As I have read this passage several times before, I have looked into the context of it. The ESV version uses the word "overseer", but other versions use the word "leader" and even later on in the same chapter we see similar instructions for "deacons" (or elders), and I have always kind of looked past it and thought "Well, this doesn't really apply to me because I'm not married, I don't have a family to lead."
So I decided to ask my Pastor about this, since I have been struggling with the meaning of this recently. I asked him, how could this apply to people like me, that are single and don't have a wife or kids to lead? Does that mean I am not qualified to be a leader at the church or a servant at the church? Because honestly, I mean, I live by myself right now, and I often wonder, who can I lead? I don't have kids or wife... So how does this apply to me?
He gave me a good answer that I have been pondering on since. Basically he said that it does apply to me. You see this passage speaks of leading at home, whether you have a family to lead or not. You must be the spiritual leader regardless of your marital status.
Ok....I thought...he continued to explain that I am my own family right now, that I must be leading myself, my walk with Christ needs to be solid and right in order to serve.
It is a tough thing to grasp for someone like me sometimes. I have prayed a lot about this and I have been humbled A LOT lately. I have come to realize that it is not necessarily a position of leader that I must desire, not even a deacon or anything else. It is the position of a servant of Jesus Christ. I must serve and be sure that I am leading myself, that I am in constant fellowship with the Lord, that I am reading, studying and applying His Word in my life. For now, I am single and I thank God for that, because Paul also expresses that a single person has more time, less responsibilities in life and that I can invest that own time in my relationship with the Lord. I have more oportunities to be involved in church and I don't have to respond to a wife or worry about kids.
In the future, I would like to get married and have a family of my own, and while that has been something that I have desired, I have also come to terms that right now, my main focus needs to be my relationship with Christ. Whenever the time comes (if it comes), He will send me that companion, but in the mean time I have an amazing oportunity to serve Him and grow closer to Him in so many ways and that I need to squeeze this opportunity as much as I can.
As I said, this passage has been a constant struggle and question in my mind, and I am so thankful that I got some understanding of it now. I am done complaining about not having a wife or kids and I know that Lord willing, that time will come, I just must continue being faithful and applying the time I have right now and the lack of marriage/ family responsibilities and giving it to Him, so that He can continue using me and preparing me for the things that are to come.
The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?Over the past few months, I had a few friends and relatives of mine get married. It was great seeing each of these couples (to be more specific, it was 5 couples) tie the knot and start their own life in Christ together, as one. While I am happy and thankful for each and every one of them, my mind started to wonder something, I have been able to watch them and notice that it is as if suddenly, they all reached a new level of life of which I am not in yet. I am not even dating anyone right now and honestly, not even planning on looking for a wife.
(1 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV)
As I have read this passage several times before, I have looked into the context of it. The ESV version uses the word "overseer", but other versions use the word "leader" and even later on in the same chapter we see similar instructions for "deacons" (or elders), and I have always kind of looked past it and thought "Well, this doesn't really apply to me because I'm not married, I don't have a family to lead."
So I decided to ask my Pastor about this, since I have been struggling with the meaning of this recently. I asked him, how could this apply to people like me, that are single and don't have a wife or kids to lead? Does that mean I am not qualified to be a leader at the church or a servant at the church? Because honestly, I mean, I live by myself right now, and I often wonder, who can I lead? I don't have kids or wife... So how does this apply to me?
He gave me a good answer that I have been pondering on since. Basically he said that it does apply to me. You see this passage speaks of leading at home, whether you have a family to lead or not. You must be the spiritual leader regardless of your marital status.
Ok....I thought...he continued to explain that I am my own family right now, that I must be leading myself, my walk with Christ needs to be solid and right in order to serve.
It is a tough thing to grasp for someone like me sometimes. I have prayed a lot about this and I have been humbled A LOT lately. I have come to realize that it is not necessarily a position of leader that I must desire, not even a deacon or anything else. It is the position of a servant of Jesus Christ. I must serve and be sure that I am leading myself, that I am in constant fellowship with the Lord, that I am reading, studying and applying His Word in my life. For now, I am single and I thank God for that, because Paul also expresses that a single person has more time, less responsibilities in life and that I can invest that own time in my relationship with the Lord. I have more oportunities to be involved in church and I don't have to respond to a wife or worry about kids.
In the future, I would like to get married and have a family of my own, and while that has been something that I have desired, I have also come to terms that right now, my main focus needs to be my relationship with Christ. Whenever the time comes (if it comes), He will send me that companion, but in the mean time I have an amazing oportunity to serve Him and grow closer to Him in so many ways and that I need to squeeze this opportunity as much as I can.
As I said, this passage has been a constant struggle and question in my mind, and I am so thankful that I got some understanding of it now. I am done complaining about not having a wife or kids and I know that Lord willing, that time will come, I just must continue being faithful and applying the time I have right now and the lack of marriage/ family responsibilities and giving it to Him, so that He can continue using me and preparing me for the things that are to come.
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