Your Pastor Is Just a Sheep Too
Paul ties up this lesson about elders by saying to Timothy: "I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favouritism." (1 Timothy 5:21)
So, don't treat your minister or elder or pastor differently. Don't show any favouritism or partiality to them because of their position in the community. Maybe you like the way your pastor does things. Maybe you don't. Maybe when the time comes for a new minister, you'll like the way they do things, or you won't. Or maybe you find yourself at a different church at some point, and you get to know somebody else who is called to pastor.
Whatever the case, will you be fair? Will you refuse to show favouritism to a minister, or against one?
Remember Who the Church Is Really About
Now, as we close this week’s devotions, can I remind you of something that isn't in this little passage but is in the book of 1 Timothy all over the place?
It’s that the focus of church is not your pastor. It's Jesus.
Yes, all the things we've looked at this week are important. But the most important thing is that you go to church and get closer to Jesus as you praise and worship Him, as you pray, as you hear His Word, and as you serve in your community.
God is the Great Shepherd, not the pastor, the minister or the elder.
Pastors Are Under-Shepherds
Pastors come and go. In fact, the Bible calls elders "under-shepherds." They are shepherds under the One True Shepherd. Only Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Your ministers are under-shepherds whose calling is to point you to Him.
So follow Paul’s words here in 1 Timothy 5 to care for your under-shepherd, but above all, fix your eyes on the One who is the Good Shepherd.
Remember, your pastor is just a sheep too.
Paul closes with a call to treat ministers fairly, and with a reminder of who the church is really about. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Good Shepherd, today.