Friend of God

1 Timothy 3:1
It is a true saying that if someone wants to be an elder, he desires an honorable responsibility. (NLT)

The marketplace is the business arena where we work and shop each week. At work, we are either the boss or work for one. The boss is the person responsible for seeing that the goals of the company are accomplished. His first duty is to the company and its ability to make a profit.

When a businessperson first comes to church as a new member of even as a new believer, many look to him or her as a leader because of their position in the marketplace. The new person may be expected to move into leadership within the church. They might even expect to do so.

The KJV refers to a bishop rather than an elder. The root word is the Greek word Episkope, which means to be an oversight. That person would be the overseer or one of the presiding officers in a Christian church. He would be holding the position of overseership referred to in the Bible as the office of an elder.

In other words, this is someone who is given responsibility over others in a church body, the family of believers that assemble regularly. In a worldly sense, we think of elder as someone who is older than us and wise with wisdom because of their age and experience in life. In the body of Christ the wisdom and experience is all about their walk with God.

We must be careful not to blend the marketplace responsibilities with the church responsibilities. The goals are different. In business, the boss may even force his or her wisdom and knowledge on us. They demand involuntary submission on our part. In the church submission is voluntary. We submit to the elders because we seek their wisdom, experiential knowledge, and spiritual guidance. They are to be an encouragement to us in our walk, not our guide--the Holy Spirit takes us on the journey.

Although a church organization needs finances to pay the bills and function in our society, the "bottom line" is not the primary purpose of its existence. It is the people that come first. As such, the marketplace leader must learn how to lead in an entirely different scenario; with a different protocol.

Holding a title in a church organization does not mean you are any more successful than he who does not. There is no large paycheck or long exotic vacation attached to it. No, with the title comes responsibility to God's children. With it comes commitment to compassion to others.

The first title we should be seeking is "friend of God". We need to develop our relationship with Him. Then we can think about the title at our church; at the body of believers we assemble with to praise God each week.

Were you a friend of God today?