““Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’â€â€ (Luke 17:7-10 ESV)
Pastors really are terribly fragile. Just speaking for myself, I know that there is always one part of me that basically wants people to throw a parade for me for doing what God has given me to do.
Why is that? What is it that pastors have such arrogance that we expect people to fawn over us and praise us for every little thing we do, be it big or small, significant or insignificant? Does God expect that? And maybe more importantly, how do we reconcile our Lord’s words from above with St. Paul’s words from Galatians?
“One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches.†(Galatians 6:6 ESV)
Maybe this is simply another form of narcissicm, but I oftentimes have a very hard time between simply doing my duty, being praised for it, and the need to be acknowledged for what has done in and through me.
Am I making any sense here, or is this just the random babbling of a pastor not ready for the fall to being?
You make total sense, Pastor.