The Convergence of Faith and Civic Duty
1 Chronicles 26:32
And his brethren, men of valour, were two thousand and seven hundred chief fathers, whom king David made rulers over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God, and affairs of the king.
Notice here that David made these men of valour rulers over every matter pertaining to God, and affairs of the king. These men were not only familiar with the work of God, but also with the work of the king. It wouldn’t hurt for our churches to have a balanced mix of the same! We need men and women who are both business-smart AND ministry-smart. Actually, these men in our text weren’t in just any business, but in the king’s business! In other words, they were involved heavily in politics.
It would serve our country well for God-fearing people to get more involved both in business and in politics, as we need these Godly influences in the decision-making process at these levels in our society! I’m afraid that we’ve segregated ourselves from every sector of our culture all in the name of separation, so much to the point that we can no longer be the salt of the earth in many cases. Jesus told his disciples that they were in the world, but not of the world! As a matter of fact, He prayed that they would not be taken out of the world, but that they would be delivered from the evil thereof! This tells me that the only way we’re going to influence this culture for the cause of Christ in an impactful way is for us to be integrated in it without its evil corrupting and influencing us!
We need full-time Christian workers for all sorts of various ministries, but we also need sold-out Christians as factory workers, school teachers, business owners, politicians, and so on! We need to have representation for Christ at every level and in most every profession in our society if we are going to penetrate the darkness with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as effectively as He would have us to. It does not hurt even for the pastor, missionary, or evangelist to be bi-vocational, just as Paul the Apostle who was not only the greatest missionary of all time, but was also a tent maker! Do not think that just because you are punching a clock, that you’re not being as effective with the ministry as others who are in “full-time” ministry. Could it be that in many ways you could be more effective with that field of influence than others?
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
And his brethren, men of valour, were two thousand and seven hundred chief fathers, whom king David made rulers over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God, and affairs of the king.
Notice here that David made these men of valour rulers over every matter pertaining to God, and affairs of the king. These men were not only familiar with the work of God, but also with the work of the king. It wouldn’t hurt for our churches to have a balanced mix of the same! We need men and women who are both business-smart AND ministry-smart. Actually, these men in our text weren’t in just any business, but in the king’s business! In other words, they were involved heavily in politics.
It would serve our country well for God-fearing people to get more involved both in business and in politics, as we need these Godly influences in the decision-making process at these levels in our society! I’m afraid that we’ve segregated ourselves from every sector of our culture all in the name of separation, so much to the point that we can no longer be the salt of the earth in many cases. Jesus told his disciples that they were in the world, but not of the world! As a matter of fact, He prayed that they would not be taken out of the world, but that they would be delivered from the evil thereof! This tells me that the only way we’re going to influence this culture for the cause of Christ in an impactful way is for us to be integrated in it without its evil corrupting and influencing us!
We need full-time Christian workers for all sorts of various ministries, but we also need sold-out Christians as factory workers, school teachers, business owners, politicians, and so on! We need to have representation for Christ at every level and in most every profession in our society if we are going to penetrate the darkness with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as effectively as He would have us to. It does not hurt even for the pastor, missionary, or evangelist to be bi-vocational, just as Paul the Apostle who was not only the greatest missionary of all time, but was also a tent maker! Do not think that just because you are punching a clock, that you’re not being as effective with the ministry as others who are in “full-time” ministry. Could it be that in many ways you could be more effective with that field of influence than others?
~ Pastor Gary Caudill