Rachel Whisman

There are many meals prepared over the week. Each meal takes time to gather the ingredients, read through the recipe, and assemble for yourself or serve to your family. When you provide a meal to others, you are delighted to nourish them and hope they enjoy it. Some might show appreciation and say, “thank you,” and your heart is encouraged by their sincerity and niceties. However, others are on pins and needles because, as they wait, they know whoever is eating is more likely to recoil and respond with complaints and facial expressions that reveal distaste. The host is left potentially more discouraged than uplifted. 

On Sunday mornings, a meal has also been prayerfully and thoughtfully crafted for you to enjoy at Church. Your pastor has spent hours praying, studying, meditating, reading, and conversing with others on the main entree, the word of God. Yet, as the singing is finished and you sit down in your chair, are your hands eager to hold a fork and knife as if you are about to have a feast? Or are you clicking your pen, as if a food critic, ready to jot down every critique you have with your meal? 

The author of Hebrews reminds us that our pastors “are keeping watch over our souls, as those who will give an account” (Heb. 13:7). Our pastors will not go unnoticed. They will have to give an answer to God for their leadership and how they have shepherded and tended to their flock. They have a calling, but so do we, as we are to “Obey your leaders and submit to them…Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (Heb. 13:17). Look at that last part again, “Let them do this with joy and not with groaning.” How many times have I failed at this? I have been the toddler at the dinner table, rejecting the message that has been provided for me due to my ignorance, pride, and selfishness. In those moments, there are tantrums and a reluctance to accept what has been graciously and intentionally given to me for my good and well-being. 

Yet, God has placed this man before your church to preach the word of God. When we murmur and grumble, God is not honored, only our pride is. It is a sound that is distracting, like nails on a chalkboard, that obscures the beauty of Christ. There is so much more that goes on behind the scenes than we are aware of. They have meetings to lead, decisions to be made that could weigh heavily on them, and conversations with church members that could be cheerful or challenging. While still making time to study the text for hours, as well as prioritize their family at home. 

Their job is not easy. The Lord will sustain them through it, and as church members, we have the opportunity to partake in encouraging them with our words. Take joy in Proverbs 16:24 when it says, “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” A word spoken in kindness can give breath to a weary soul. Extend to them a “thank you” after the sermon. Honor them with how you speak of them from afar. We are all part of the same body, and to speak down on them is to harm ourselves and our head, Jesus Christ. May our pastors be able to do their job with joy. 

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.”

Proverbs 25:11