My pastor warned me and, I’m sorry to say, I didn’t really believe him. I thought he said it because of some bad experience in his life. I thought it surely must be the exception to the rule. I certainly didn’t think it applied to every pastor. He said, “The people you love the most and try to help the most will hurt you the most”. Although I didn’t see it then–he was right. If you aren’t careful you will become soured by the saints!
Perhaps you’ve heard this–“To dwell up above with the saints we love will be glory. But, to live here below with the saints that we know–well, that’s another story!”. It sure is. Here below, they will hurt you. That little ditty might sound funny, but it is all too real. The very same people you love and try to help will tear your heart out and, sadder still, some don’t even care if they do. Sooner or later, every pastor will discover what Paul meant when he said,”–I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.”(2 Cor. 12:15). Many folks talk a good game, but when push comes to shove they bail out. Most pastors are treated like church furniture–used up until they’re broken down and then discarded.
Here’s the cold hard facts. People will lie about you, lie to you, use you, and leave you. They will drain every ounce of your energy and then complain because you don’t do more, even if it is something they themselves should have been doing. Instead of going the extra-mile, enabling you to do your job “with joy, and not with grief”(Heb.13:17), they will take advantage of your love, knowing you won’t quit, and give you half rather than “double honour”(1 Tim. 5:17). Although they insist that you give all, they give only the left-overs (Mal. 1:6-14). You are expected to do what they themselves are unwilling to do, and if you dare even hint that it is unfair the name calling begins. You are supposed to “Cowboy Up” and pretend that everything is perfect.
The same people who say, “Tell it like it is”, don’t really want to hear it like it is when it comes to their short-comings. They want you to comdemn everyone’s sin but their’s. They don’t mind hearing about the failure of the church across town, they will even help spread the gossip, but they don’t want their own sin exposed. None of us do, but sometimes that’s the only thing that will help us deal with it.
I’m glad my pastor loved me enough to tell me the truth. I’m also glad that I had his example to encourage me. He was abused, neglected, falsely accused, and threatened to the point that I literally had to serve as a body guard in some meetings. Yet he never stopped loving the people, nor did he return evil for evil. He remained faithful until the day that God suddenly took him home with a heart attack. Now, nearly half a century later, his example continues to inspire me. Every time I’m tempted to throw in the towel I remember that he didn’t and I shouldn’t.
It would be funny were it not so serious. In the mind of many people preachers are supposed to be some kind of super-hero, like those found in the comic books. They are suppose to endure any trial, over come any problem, suffer any insult, and never stop smiling. God forbid that he ever feel like quitting–there is then no end to the slander against him. The cold hard facts is that pastors are only human–full of faults, prone to discouragement, and weak as a kitten. It is only by the grace of God that he can remain “faithful unto death”. So, here’s the cold hard facts–life isn’t always fair or fun, but we are commanded to be faithful. So are you. So, are you? Think about it!
