Maybe he asked because of certain "religions" that don't tolerate that for their ministers; or maybe they themselves would look at a preacher funny if they did handle alcohol. That would be like questioning a minister who has a secular (worldly) job as a cop handling a gun. Well this is what I say to that.....
Some of the 12 disciples had secular jobs along with their heavenly call to minister the Good News.
Peter and his brother Bartholomew were fishermen
James and his brother John were also fishermen after their father
Matthew was a tax Collector
Simon was a political activist
Paul who wrote a great majority of the New Testament was a tent maker....
And yet all of these men still carried out the charge of preaching and ministering about Christ. Now I know some people would say that these men were not doing specific work that we would consider against God, but let's look a little further into this...shall we? Back in Bible times most who preached the Torah (law of Moses) were either Pharisees or Sadducees. These keepers of the law were the image people had grew accustomed to. No one would normally listen to someone that was not of a certain stature or have a certain amount of education (kind of like today) when it came to teaching the law of Moses. And yet Christ came down in flesh and equipped ordinary men with ordinary lives and ordinary responsibilities and gave them all and Extraordinary task to complete.
God gives us several commands for instance:
1 Cor 10:31 Whatsoever you do, whether you eat or drink do it all to the glory of God. or
Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, do it heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive your inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
So right here we are easily told to always bring glory to God in what we do. Serving alcohol is not my profession of choice, but at the same time I cannot control what someone does with what they are given. If things are handled responsibly and with honor and respect then there should be no problem.
I learned through this situation that I can't sit and wonder every time someone looks at me crazy because their view of a minister doesn't line up with what they see....too old, too young, not tall enough, voice not deep enough or whatever the case may be. The calling on my life is not dictated by the people. The Lord alone knows my heart and intent and his Holy Spirit guides me to make sound decisions and to being a good ambassador for Christ. Some decisions are easier than others. A good rule of thumb is this; if it doesn't sit right with your spirit chances are you need not do it. - Be blessed and a blessing
1 comment:
It tends to be best not to allow the opinions of others to dictate our actions. Although I guess one does have to balance that with not causing our brother sin.
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