A Pastor Must Not Be Motivated By Money

626 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 3:3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; Next on the list of pastoral qualifications is the pastor must not be covetous. Have you noticed that some of these qualifications almost seem redundant? I mean, “not violent” is pretty much the same as “gentle” and “not quarrelsome,” and “covetous” is pretty much the same as “not greedy for money.” In fact both terms can mean, “not greedy for filthy lucre.” We have already talked about the matter of being guilty of the greed of filthy lucre. What makes money filthy is when it is obtained by feigned spirituality. It is putting a price on “holiness.” “I will do holy things for you if you reward me financially.” Such fleecing on the part of one who would become a pastor is grounds for immediate disqualification. A pastor must not be “in it for the money!” So why introduce the matter again with this idea of being covetous? I think it is included here for the sake of the one who is hankering to be a pastor. It's a gut check. Only you, and God, know your heart! Whereas the first mention of greediness in this list of qualifications is applied to such a person who has a history of being caught with his hand in the cookie jar. This second mention serves as a warning to the prospective pastor to not even gaze wantonly at the cookie jar. So you want to be a pastor? What's your motivation? Do you see it as an easy way to make a buck? Do you find yourself desiring to build an empire like you see with some TV evangelists? Be careful! Anytime you have such thoughts the next step may be to twist the words of Scripture in order to put the squeeze on the flock. There is a warning for prospective pastors found in Tit 1:10,11, “For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. The desire for dishonest gain starts in the heart, (that's where all covetousness begins) and when covetousness is acted on, a Pandora's box of sin and misery is sure to follow.