I have not one, but multiple machines in my house that I love. It’s the kind of machine that makes me give thanks for the days we live in. Little more than a century ago even kings and titans of industry had no such machine. These machines serve a dual purpose. They give a kind of invigorating massage, perfect for waking me up in the wee hours or soothing sore muscles after cutting the grass. They also do an excellent job of cleaning me, washing away the sweat and stink. These machines are so cheap to operate I can pay those costs each month with the change I find in the couch. Yet if I had to go a week without these amazing machines, not only would I be miserable, but the whole family would. Chances are exceedingly high, by the way, that you have at least one of these machines as well. We call ours, “the shower.”
What does a shower have to do with caring for pastors? Both are astonishing gifts from the hand of God that we take for granted. The difference is this. If you shower your shower with gratitude and praise, it will do quite a bit for you and absolutely nothing for it. If you shower your pastor with gratitude and praise it will bless you and him. Do we even acknowledge that, whatever beefs we might have with him, our pastor is a gift from Jesus?
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, (Ephesians 4:11, 12).
Like all of His good gifts, however, we grow weary in our gratitude. Whether it’s our shower, our new car, our pastor or our new job, we start out excited and surprised, move swiftly to not noticing at all and then soon into grumbling and complaining. The children of Israel complained bitterly in their slavery. They went out of Egypt heavy laden with gold and silver and jewels, praising God, having witnessed His great power to deliver. Soon they are pining away for the good old days back in Egypt, and then bitter that God had brought them out to die. Do you know why they were like that? Because we are like that. It’s sinful ingratitude and it’s got us all in its grip.
So what do we do? We give thanks. We remember not only to pray prayers of supplication on behalf of our pastors, but prayers of thanksgiving. Then we let him know. Remind him of the ways he has blessed you in the past. Let him know how he continues to bless you. Let him know you are confident he will continue to bless you. And one more thing. If you are a part of budgetary considerations in the church, stretch a bit to bless him and his family. Wait. Are you worried it might go to his head? Worried that such might turn him into a man-pleaser? Worried this might make him motivated by filthy lucre? Better to keep your praise and his pay to a minimum lest he lose his humility?
Recognizing that there are important distinctions between a job and a calling to gospel ministry, but also recognizing that men fill both roles, imagine how you would feel if your boss came to you and said, “We think you’ve done well, but don’t want to talk to you too much about it, you know, to help you fight against pride. And no, no raise this year. We wouldn’t want our customers to think you’re motivated by money. But hey, great talk.” Imagine if your customers said to you, “Your product is just what we need. But we don’t want to write up a good review, you know, so you won’t rest on your laurels. And, to help be sure you’re not motivated by money, we’re going to pay 10 percent less next time.”
Your pastor is a man. And it is exceedingly likely that he is daily assaulted by discouragement at a level you can only imagine. It’s a good thing to pray he not grow weary. It’s also wise to give him genuine and honest encouragement. Honor the gift, and you honor the Giver.