Philippians 1:15-18
Note: For the Summer we are reprinting some devotions that ran back when we were getting this site up and running. Hopefully this is new content to you, and we will get back into writing fresh devotions as our schedule allows.
15It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
There are some passages in scripture that just completely crush my sense of fairness, and this is one of them. I want things to be easy to understand. I want to make God fit in my little world, and yet everytime I think I have Him figured out, He blows my mind again. This is one of those times for me.
When you've been in the ministry as long as I have, you hear all sorts of things. One of the big things I hear is "So and so is doing ___________ for the wrong reasons". Usually it has to do with someone who wants to be up in front of people (like speaking) and usually it comes from one of their peers whose "concerned" with their well being. As a pastor, occasionally I'll have people come up and tell me that. Sometimes there is truth in what's being said, and if there is stuff going on, please come tell me, I need to know!
This section of scripture totally messes up that line of thinking though. If you read into this verse a little, it looks like some people were jumping on the opportunity of Paul being in prison to try and steal his ministry! Talk about kicking a guy when he's down! But Paul has the right view of this, he says, "The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached." It doesn't matter their heart, what matters is that Christ is preached.
I want to point out that it does matter for the person that's doing the preaching. If YOU are preaching to try and impress a guy, or because you want to be recognized, then you need to get right with God. But if you notice that in someone else, deal with the plank in your own eye before trying to remove the speck from theirs.
-Jeff-
