Motivated By Love - December 13

Read 1 Thessalonians 2:9-10

For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers.

Reflect

What do you think motivated Paul, Silas, and Timothy to work so hard among the Thessalonians? Why were they willing to labor without compensation from them?

Ministry is hard work. But hard work is not necessarily a bad thing! In fact, work is not a result of the fall, it was instituted before the fall, at Creation. Genesis 2:15 says, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Mankind was meant to work, tend, and care for living things from the very beginning.

As Paul continued to defend his ministry and remind the believers in Thessalonica of their good character among them, he mentioned how hard they worked in order to not become a burden as they proclaimed the Gospel.

You see, Paul knew that many of the believers in Thessalonica were poor. They didn’t have the means to financially support his ministry, although they were known for giving generously despite their lack of wealth. In 2 Corinthians 8:1-3, Paul acknowledged that the Macedonian churches, like Thessalonica, were suffering from “extreme poverty” and yet they regularly gave “according to their means” and often “beyond their means.”

Still, Paul and his associates didn’t want to take advantage of the Thessalonian believers’ sacrificial generosity or abuse their giving spirits. Other churches, like the church in Philippi, sent funds to support his ministry (Philippians 4:16). He also worked as a tentmaker by day (Acts 18:1-4). Even though Paul was engaged in ministry work, he still had a “day job” or a “side hustle” in order to provide for himself. He refused to be completely dependent upon the giving of others.

Now, I want to be clear that when we go back to the Bible, we see that ministers and missionaries have a right to ask for financial support and compensation for their work. In 1 Corinthians 9:14, Paul wrote that “the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” It is good and right to pay your pastors, financially support ministries that benefit you, and generously give to support mission work.

But here, Paul is saying that he worked tirelessly so that he would not have to accept money from the Thessalonians who were already financially struggling. He wanted to present the Gospel of God to anyone who would listen, whether they could give of their resources to support him or not.

Remember that Paul had just compared their ministry among the Thessalonians to a nursing mother taking care of her children (1 Thessalonians 2:7)? I don’t know any mothers who charge their children for the work they do for them. Honestly, when I consider how hard my wife works to take care of our kids, I know that they couldn’t afford her!

But seriously, mothers are not motivated by financial compensation to nurture and tend to their children and household—they are motivated by love. It is for love's sake that they wake up in the middle of the night to feed and rock their babies. They know their babies can’t repay them for changing their diapers but they lovingly serve them anyway. May we learn from the example of mothers and Paul, to labor and toil for the sake of others. That we may proclaim to them the Gospel of God, motivated only by our love of the Lord and our love for them.

Respond

Lord, thank You for the gift of serving others sacrificially. Serving You is often hard work but I know that it is good, honest, work. Thank You for providing for our needs and for giving us the strength that we need to minister well to others. Amen.

Reveal

Reveal your love of God to someone today by serving them in Jesus’ name and sharing the Gospel with them, motivated by love alone.