1 Thessalonians 5:12
12 And [de] we beseech [erotao] you, [humas] brethren, [adelphos] to know [eido] them which [ho] labour [kopiao] among [en] you, [humin] and [kai] are over [proistemi] you [humon] in [en] the Lord, [kurios] and [kai] admonish [noutheteo] you; [humas] KJV-Interlinear
12 But we request of you,
brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have
charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, NASB
Within every
generation, God provides people to whom He has given talents and abilities,
which are to be used for the benefit by others.
God placed everyone in
this world for the purpose of good.Not
for evil.
God placed everyone in
this world for the purpose of advancing to a point of completeness. Not to finish life, incomplete.
God placed everyone in
this world for the purpose of living with Him in heaven in eternity. Not for living in destruction in the Lake of
Fire.
So, God, and God is
pretty smart you know, but anyway, God placed many resources in this world for
your use.
To some He made
lawyers.To some He made doctors. To some He made nurses. To some He made secretaries. To some He made
mothers and fathers. To some He made coaches.
And this list will go on and on until it includes everyone, including
you.
For everyone has a role
in life, and their role is not to serve themselves, but to serve God first and
others second.And this service begins
in only one way, your study of the Bible and your growth to spiritual maturity.
Paul mentions those who
are in the service of the Lord.Most folks
believe that this means pastors or instructors.
And well, it does to a degree, but it also means all people who are
advancing in their spiritual lives, and therefore are functioning in the
service of the Lord, from within their residence in their fellowship sphere.
And because all
blessings come to this world from God through positive and advancing believers,
then all believers possess an elevated role in life, over all others. Not as superiors or managers or sovereigns
and the like, but because of their relative place in life through their spiritual
relationship with God.
The easiest example of
this is to compare a believer to an unbeliever.
The unbeliever has no relationship with God, and yet the unbeliever
receives blessings in this world, because God blesses the believer. This is blessing by association. God provides air for the believer to breathe,
therefore the unbeliever receives this blessing indirectly.
This applies to the
laws of establishment, and to nearly every biblical principle that you can
imagine, which apply to all of humanity.
God may even give an unbeliever business talents in order to provide
some believer a job.So the unbeliever
received their talent not because of anything they did, but because God chose
to support some believer (and others) through that unbeliever. The believers job
was the objective, not the unbeliever.
God gave doctors the
talent to heal.This talent they apply
to others for the benefit of others.
God gave farmers the
talent to grow, to be patient, to endure hardships. This talent is applied for the benefit of
others, as others enjoy the foods produced by the farmer.
Likewise, God gave
talents to some of the purpose of teaching the Word of God, of whom it is
implied here, but Paul is really including all who serve in the Lord, by means
of their God given talents through their spiritual growth, no matter what those
talents might be.
This entire world
functions by means of the grace of God, and for no other reason.
God placed people into
history, at the proper time and in the proper place, for the purpose of
developing their talent or ability, such that life for others might be more
enjoyable, and for making the advance to spiritual maturity, easier.
To appreciate, is how
some of the texts of the many versions of Bibles are printed, but what this
means is that you need to be able to recognize, to know, this truth, to
appreciate the talents that God has provided, and more than anything, to be
thankful to God, for them all.
Every person with a
talent or ability, is in effect a superior to you, with respect to their
ability.You are superior to others with
respect to your ability, as well as being subordinate to others because of
theirs.This is not a
command superiority, but a relationship through social interactions and
such.If you need brain surgery, you don t
ask advice of the shoemaker.The expert
is the surgeon.
All believers are in
the service of the Lord.Granted most
are spiritually dysfunctional and their service is more or less, offline. But the greatest impact that society can
have, comes only from the blessings that come to society, through advancing
believers, as well as the many indirect blessings that come through the many
talents and abilities that God gives to all people in general.
Your greatest response
to this principle, is to understand it, and then to acknowledge it through your
day to day living habits.
This is your
admonishment,to learn, to take warning,
to understand the relationships of people in the world, how God has applied
their talents for your benefit (whether a positive benefit or a testing
benefit), and how all of history fits together for the ultimate conclusion of
history, as well as your own role in life.
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