For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.
1 Thessalonians 2:5-6
How many times in our culture have we seen ministers that seem to have fallen into the trap of fame and money? Sadly, once would be more times than is acceptable, and the numbers reach well beyond that.
Paul’s words resonate with us as we look for pastors and ministers of the Gospel who have some how remained pure. In the time of Paul, it was not uncommon for orators to use their skill to persuade and manipulate others into praising them or giving them money.* In fact, this became the reputation of philosophers and public speakers in the time of Paul.* Paul had to overtly state that he and his team were not after money and fame because so many that came before them had.* The orators of the time of Paul were akin to the rockstar legends or Hollywood stars of our day.*
It was imperative that Paul overtly oppose those motives and seek to have his life align to his claims.
Interestingly, Paul, according to the expectations on a community for how to treat an apostle such as Paul, should have been expecting him to ask for honor and financial compensation, yet Paul did not.* He wanted to preserve the integrity of the Gospel.
How do people view Christians in your circle? Do you seek to overtly represent the purity of the Gospel by separating yourself from those things that they think or say that don’t align to the heart and person of Christ?
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to seek after the purity of the Gospel. Perhaps today God wants you to step toward aligning some area of your life to Christ. Maybe today God wants you to live holy as He is holy. Perhaps today God wants you to set aside greed and fame as pursuits in order to pursue after sharing the hope of Jesus to humanity.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!
*Holmes, M. (1998). 1 and 2 Thessalonians (pp. 62–63). Zondervan Publishing House.
Shogren, G. S. (2012). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (pp. 96–98). Zondervan.
Green, G. L. (2002). The letters to the Thessalonians (pp. 121–124). W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
Kim, S., & Bruce, F. F. (2023). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (D. B. Capes, Ed.; Second Edition, Vol. 45, pp. 207–209). Zondervan Academic.
Morris, L. (1984). 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An introduction and commentary (Vol. 13, pp. 54–55). InterVarsity Press.
Beale, G. K. (2003). 1–2 Thessalonians (pp. 68–71). InterVarsity Press.
Weima, J. A. D. (2014). Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: 1–2 Thessalonians (R. W. Yarbrough & R. H. Stein, Eds.; pp. 138–142). Baker Academic.