Before God

Timothy is in Ephesus, a Church under attack from the start by Satan.
Paul is writing to his convert, whom he is giving the pastorate of the Church to.

So, I want to pick up with 1 Timothy 5:17 - 6:2.

Elders
By nature non of us are ones to submit, we lack respect for others, relationships are a problem.  Yet we have to choose wisely our elders because they have to be willing to submit, to hold in respect others, to maintain relationships.  Their responsibility is directly the care of the widows, orphans and other leaders in the Church.  I have yet to see a church outside of third world nations where the Church actually does their duties towards widows and orphans in the Church!

If you feel no condemnation here - then your Church is a rare exception or you need to study yesterday's post again.

Pay Properly
Really?  Paul writes to Timothy to tell the church to pay him what he is worth?  Really?
I guess even 2,000 years ago, people were cheapskates and not wanting to pay their ministers.  Admittedly, it was not a new concept in Ephesus, given that it was a pagan ritual site with plenty of taxes and gifts required to support the temples and bathes.  So, what was the point?

Perhaps a challenge for the congregation of Ephesus to make a choice with their drachmas?  Give to the Church or support the pagan shrines.  Make a choice but do not straddle the fence and claim to be a Christian while starving out your pastor.  Could be, heaven knows, I have seen more than one youth pastor starved out of the ministry - and even a few pastors as well!

Chose Carefully
1 Timothy 3:6, 10
The Church must choose carefully - their future reputation is on the line here.
The leadership must not include new converts.  Even I was to learn the value of that one, the year I became a Christian and my church talked me into being a Youth Pastor.  I told them it was a bad idea, but they did not care.  I thought it was because I was special (but it was because they were beyond cheap!).

Candidates must be trusted.  That same church a year later was to see its Eldership, almost to the man, go to prison and jail for everything from embezzlement to securities fraud.  It was a marvel to witness - and to then understand that God does hold those whom would represent Him, responsible.

Witness Well
Your mission on this earth, one a Christian, is to bring glory to God.  And the only thing that brings glory to God is our lives, lived for him, and not ourselves.
We are all equal before God.

Just as a side note, having said that we are all equate is to also say that we are not all equal.  If we have not made our peace with our Creator and accepted Jesus' payment for our rebellion against God - then we are all equal before God - we are all toast.
On the other hand, if we are Christians and have made that choice to place our hope in Jesus' payment, then we are all equal before God - except God will see His Son, not our sinning faces, when we come up for judgement!
And just as someone, through a long line of witnesses throughout history, lead to our conversion, so it becomes our responsibility to do the same for others in reach them for God as well.