Of Preachers and Profits

There is no doubt about it, preachers have a tough of it. They get hammered on both sides. God tells them what their job is and holds them to a terribly high standard. And the people that they are here to help tell them what they are supposed to look like, or, what they are not supposed to look like.

And their job does not just have these problems. There is also the temptation factor, which is amplified simply because they are preachers. They walk a fine line between compromising their beliefs in order to fit in and appearing to sit in judgment of their flock. The snares that their congregation can get caught in are not allowed for them. Being a recovering alcoholic, drug addict, gambling addict or, dare I say it, sex addict, is acceptable for secular society (a long as they are recovering). We will accept the banker who is dealing with his addiction and applaud him for his strength. We give grace to the plumber who is addicted to gambling

Preachers are especially prone to the three basic sins that plague us all: The carnal nature acted out, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Basically sins based on what you feel, sins based on what you see, and sins based on who you think you are or will become if you get what you desire. Simpler still, money, women and power, or fame. Satan really has not added to his arsenal since the Garden of Eden. He told Eve, "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food (sins based on what you feel) and pleasing to the eye (sins based on what you see), and also desirable for gaining wisdom, (sins based on who you think you are or will become if you get what you desire) she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." (Genesis 3:4-7)

This is also the tactic he tried on Jesus after He came out of the desert after fasting for 40 days. First he tried to tempt Him with carnal cravings. "The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." (Matthew 4:3) Next, he tried to tempt Jesus with pride of life. "Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' " (Matthew 4:5, 6)
Jesus could have bypassed the cross and the pain associated with it by simply jumping off the tower and allowing angels to catch Him. And lastly, the Tempter tried the lust of the eyes. "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." (Matthew 4:8)

Let me share a few simple things before I continue. 1) The tempter was not lying about anything he offered Jesus. He could have delivered everything he said he could, including the angels catching Jesus if He chose to jump off the top of the tower. All of it was true. 2) There was nothing inherently evil in any of the things with which the Tempter tried to entice Jesus. Just like there is nothing inherently wrong with wealth, women (or sex), or power (fame). And 3), everything he tried to tempt Jesus with was God's will for Him in the first place: that he get something to eat, that he be known to everyone in the world, and that He inherit all the kingdoms of the earth. All of it would come in its own time.
I want to talk about the issue of preachers and money as this is one of the easiest traps for a minister to fall into. Since 84% of the churches in the United States have 500 people or less attending each week, finances are a delicate subject for most churches and their pastors on a regular basis. The average pastor receives a salary and housing package that equals roughly $31,000 per year. That is the average, with some making a whole lot more and some making a whole lot less. Obviously, the smaller the congregation, the smaller the salary package for the pastor.

Most churches would rather have a pastor who is frugal than one who is a spendthrift. But either extreme is not what God intended for His church. Some pastors who have fallen into this trap of "money as a god to be reckoned with" use the argument that "we are to be good stewards" and therefore justify all sorts ofun -Christian behaviors to keep their balance sheet in the black. This can be anything from skimping on the quality of equipment or materiel used in the church to withholding payment, either partial or full, from staff for supposed sins in the lives of their fellow workers.

One area where pastoral staff get into trouble is in the area of their personal giving. One retired minister was heard saying, "I do not have to pay tithe on my salary since I am a minister." When God called for the tithe, or tenth, of all income (Malachi 3:10), He did not make a distinction between the minister and congregation. All were required to pay tithe. We do not pay our tithe to the church itself, although that is where the actual money goes. We pay tithes to God as an offering and the church leadership is responsible to God for the proper use of that money. The leadership actually has a more dire responsibility than we do as they must answer to God Himself for the handling, or mishandling, of the finances. We do not hurt the church or the pastor by not paying tithes. Those people who think they pay the pastor's salary have it wrong. They simply honor God with their "first fruits" and God uses that money to pay the pastor's salary.

Although pastors that become greedy do not seem to fall quite as dramatically as those that fall to sexual sin (I think of JimmySwaggart and Jim Baker as prime examples), there have been those whose financial excesses have caught up with them (Jim Baker's air conditioned dog house and Larry Lea's financial woes surrounding his aggressive fund raising are two that come to mind). They might get away with it for awhile, but not for ever, and some times, not for long.

One thing is certain, although God is not a bean counter, nothing slips by His watchful gaze. And the shepherds that are charged with watching the sheep should be very careful when it comes to the subject of ethics., be it money, women (sex), or power (fame). This may be an Old Testament quote, but the words ring as true today as they did when they were written. "And you may be sure that your sin will find you out." (Numbers 32:23)