For a bishop must be blameless, as
the steward of God,
Paul uses the word elder and the word
bishop interchangeably. It has been suggested that the first term; elder, has
to do with the character of the man; dignified, stately and mature. The second
term; bishop, which would be better translated overseer, and has to do with the
role of the man; alert, watchful and observant. This leader is described as a
steward of God, thus informing us that not only are we responsible for the
people in the house; we are ultimately answerable to the owner of the house. We
are stewards, we are not owners.
Observe the
qualities that the stewards of the house must guard against; not self-willed,
not soon angry, not given to wine, not a striker and not greedy of money.
Self-will heads the list of dangerous
traits in a leader. If a man must have his own way and if he is driven to fulfill
his own pleasure, the church will always be at risk of being destroyed. A
self-focused man becomes the source of all other fallen tendencies. Self-will
is really the root of all sin as demonstrated by Adam in the Garden of Eden; he
chose his own way over God’s way. Millennia later, in another garden, the Last
Adam aligned his will with God’s will and thus restored the long-broken
relationship between God and man. As long as we are self-willed we will be
continually frustrated and soon we will be governed by anger. Anger is one of
those qualities that reveal how disappointed and upset we are with ourselves. It
is usually not about what the other person has done but about our own internal
conflicts and disillusionment; we are not happy with who we are and where we
are at in life. It has been said that most men correct in their children what
they are not happy about in themselves.
By using the phrase, not given to wine,
Paul seems to be speaking of an addictive tendency in certain people. There are
people who can have a glass of wine and not be given to it, and there are
people who would never touch a drop but are ruled by it. Legalism is corrosive
to relationships, and just as destructive as a lack of restraint. We cannot be
the kind of people that are always looking for a way to escape the pressures of
life in order to find a place of peace. There are those restless and agitated souls
that never are content with where they are; they are always looking for
something else.
When a person resorts to physical violence
and aggression it is a clear indication of a lack of trust in God; this person
literally takes matters into their own hands, they are not seeking God for
answers. Many men grow up attempting to solve all their problems through
physical force. Punch first, think later seems to be their motto, and even
after advancing in years and realizing that this only makes things worse, they
may still have the attitude and predisposition of a striker. One who is quick
to lift his hand against another is either full of fear or pride, or more
likely, both.
Ending
the list of what a steward or elder must not be is the phrase; not greedy of
money, or as another version says, not desiring profit for himself. In our day
and in our culture much of a man’s success is measured in terms of how much
money he has. Money is used across the world and is a necessary element in
order to transact any business. It is not in any way wrong to have money. Quite
the opposite actually, it is wrong for money to have you. Paul said elsewhere
that the love of money is the root of all evil, and one can commit that sin
without even having a dime. It is not about what we have or do not have; it is
about our heart. As a leader, especially, we must not be those whose motives
are for personal gain or benefit.
My pastor counselled me, when we took over
the leadership of a struggling church, to remove all of the potential faults in
the infrastructure of the church. If we continue to build on a known fault-line
then we shouldn’t be surprised when there is eventual disaster. Foundations are
designed to uphold, remain steady and not shift under the weight and pressure
of the structure. Titus was wisely instructed to avoid placing the weight of
responsibility on the faulty foundations and character flaws of certain type of
men. Negative traits in people, having become firmly established, are harder to
deal with than cultivating positive traits in those who do not have them; it is
easier to plant than it is to uproot.
No comments:
Post a Comment