Day 270, or September the 27th. Do you earn what
you are paid? Our thoughts today come from Zechariah
chapter 11, verse 12. I told them, if you think
it best, give me my pay, but if not, keep it.
So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And
now the big picture surrounding this verse. Zechariah
continues to tell us more about the coming Messiah,
and as part of his teaching, today's verse mentions
the infamous thirty pieces of silver, which were
to be paid to Judas Iscariot when he betrayed
Jesus many centuries later. Ironically, this
was the price of a slave back in the days of
Moses, Exodus chapter 21, verse 32. And now today's
action step. Zechariah tells us, as part of his
teaching on the coming Messiah, that some shepherds
may not be worth paying. Pay me what I'm worth,
he declares. Can you imagine where we would be
if that idea was adopted in the church today?
As an itinerant preacher and teacher for many
years, I regularly met leaders who saw it as
their job just to be faithful rather than seeking
to be successful for the Lord. Of course we are
to be faithful, but we are to bear fruit too.
I know of a ministry that had posters put up
in its sales office to encourage better book
sales. It said, Blessing begins with a sale.
Too harsh, perhaps, but books on the shelf won't
bless anyone. I believe too many followers of
Jesus Christ see struggling and failure as confirmation
that they are being faithful. I wouldn't want
all church leaders to be paid by results, but
it would be great if we all worked as if this
was the case. Don't just put things in the budget,
but do something to finance them. Earn it, raise
it or pray it in, but don't pretend that simply
adding it to the budget is the answer. Thankfully,
God doesn't give us what we deserve either financially
or spiritually. It's called grace. But don't
abuse this privilege. Be sure you don't blush
at the thought of being paid what you are worth
today, whether you have a secular position or
have the privilege of being paid for ministry.