Deacon: "one who serves"

I have come to learn that whenever I learn something new I desire to share it with you as quickly as possible. This morning, I learned something new and I hope that it can be of some sort of encouragement to you today.

How many of you have ever read or seen the passages in the bible that are about either instructions or qualifications for overseers and deacons in the church? I have read those passages for years and never really thought that they applied to me. I think it was fair to think that, I am not in a position of leadership in the church so why would I think those instructions and qualifications are for me and you?

While I was reading through 1 Timothy 3, (it was a passage about qualifications for overseers and deacons) I was thinking that these qualifications would be good for everybody, not just overseers and deacons. I was then trying to think about how we as believers should live and a lot of the two things related very well. Then I thought, why would we want to live in a way that is different than overseers and deacons?

Paul writes that whoever desires to be an overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devils trap.

In the same way with deacons, they are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold up the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

Then with women, they are to be worth of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

Paul concludes those instructions with this: Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus. 

These qualifications lead to some pretty high expectations but why would we expect any different? The creator of everything deserves our best efforts to serve and love others.

All believers even if we don't ever plan to be church leaders should strive to follow these guidelines because they are consistent with what God says is true and right. There are people out there who can effectively teach who never teach or lead at a church. Their lessons are then passed on to other people  and those people become spiritual mentors. I am sure that you can think of some of those people in your lives. More is learned through living than through lectures. If you have been able to communicate your faith clearly to another person, you have demonstrated teaching at its best. In measuring our abilities to teach we should never base it on how many students we teach; instead ask how much truth you have passed to even one student.

That is the point I want to leave with you. That more is learned through living than through lectures. You spend more time during this life living than you do sitting through lectures. It's about the effectiveness of the way we live in our daily lives. Are we living as people who serve others or living to serve yourself?

Much like the qualifications for overseers and deacons, there are qualifications for you and I and those are the ways in which we need to live because those guidelines are consistent with what God says is true and right.