Seize the Moment – Day 527
A Worker’s Wages!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, August 26.
Every generation seeks to apply the Word of God to our contemporary cultures in timely and practical ways. One such discussion is that of the role of paid church workers.
God’s Word is the foundation for all church discussions, including this ongoing conversation. Leviticus 7:7-9 communicates that a priest is worth his wages:
The guilt offering is like the sin offering, there is one law for them; the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it. Also the priest who presents any man’s burnt offering, that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has presented. Likewise, every grain offering that is baked in the oven and everything prepared in a pan or on a griddle shall belong to the priest who presents it.
The sacrificial system was essential to providing for the priests and the tabernacle (temple) workers because these people were without land allotment to farm and subsist. Since God chose them to focus their work efforts on tending to the faith and practices of His people, He built into the Law that their wages came from their work.
In the church today, there are men and women—priests, pastors, ministry leaders, church and parachurch workers, and missionaries serving around world—whose chosen vocation has the same exclusive purpose of tending to the faith and practices of God’s people. These people work hard and are worthy of their wages. Those wages are no longer through the Levitical sacrificial system, but they are still flowing through the sacrifices of God’s covenant people.
Seize the moment and give generously to God’s work. Pray for and financially support the laborers you know who are tending to the faith and practices of God’s people.