Mezhiisevi Mark Ziitso
One of my friend with some deacons and leaders of a particular church were galloping the potholes of Nagaland, for Nagaland and by the Nagas on a horse power car after attending a meeting. On their wobbly-wabbly ride, thanks to the government of Nagaland, they had a discussion on the ministry of a certain leader. From his wife they went to children, to dress, to speech, to conduct, to character, to criticizing, and finally they came to his salary. One of them remarked that his salary was approximately 17,000 rupees. Here they were talking about an Executive Secretary of a tribal council. Poignantly in all melancholy, after hearing the amount, a deacon with all his wisdom spoke, “a preacher shouldn’t be paid that much.” Many of them nodded at his Neanderthal primordial bigoted wisdom.
For a fair account, keeping in mind the responsibility and work this Executive Secretary has over his hands, head, and heart he should be paid the double amount of what he is paid. Yet still, these ignorant envious bratty deacons deem he is paid worldly rich. I was left appalled in abyss when my friend narrated it to me in derision. I wished at that moment they would be exported to Plato or to a place where dinosaurs still exist. For crying out loud, what do they think preachers are? Do they still think God creates manna for the preacher and his family each morning? Do they think the Pastor goes fishing on Saturday and catch fishes with cash and coins in their mouths? Do they think the foods in the preacher’s refrigerator, if he has one, multiply each morning to feed his children?
An elder brother, a preacher today told me his sorry tale of how it was to be the child of a preacher who was never paid enough. How they had to live in scrimped and scratched. How they had to pluck every leaf by the roadside to sell for their fees. How they had to salivate at the aroma of pork cooked in their neighbors house. How they craved for meat once in a month. How they had to shy away from friends on Christmas because old Santa never brought new clothes for them. The school uniform was his best attire. Whenever a gospel tour or special event was arranged, he was on full uniform because the only other attire he usually had was a dirty shirt and a stylish torn pant. “Like any other kids,” he told me, “we loved to eat good food, we liked new clothes, our feet fitted in better in new shoes, and sweets were sweet to our mouths too…”
His dad was an evangelist, a very good and faithful one. None of them complaint about their impoverished past but are grateful to God because they survived thus far. But this elder brother of mine, a preacher himself today decided he won’t allow his children to go through the same trauma of poverty. Today he works in a place where he is paid enough for his family to survive plus he has a retailer shop to cover his other expenses. He aspires for more and he is not greedy.
Some of us will want to blame his Dad for their poverty. Keeping the facts, his dad had very less choices. To begin with, even today what are your initial thoughts when you see a preacher venturing for a business? “He is worldly and greedy” One. What are the other thoughts, “He is not a faithful preacher,” two. “He is serving two masters, money and God,” three, now you are getting biblical. “He cannot be trusted, he is not a man of faith” and what not. His dad in the past had to live with such tags if he did anything other than preaching and praying. He expected the church to help a little more which never happened. He will be discouraged or even fired as an evangelist if he had done anything to earn money. He won’t want that to happen, he won’t let anything forfeit his call. He chose to serve God at the expense of the comfort of his family. God did help and provide for his family. They survived. But the words of his son, kept ringing in my ears even as I write, “we would have been better today, had the church cared to help us.”
I get head over heels thrilled on hearing Pastors being paid enough or more. They deserved to be paid. It is biblical. The worker deserves his wage (1 Tim. 5:18). My friend told me about his church and it tickled my fancy. His church pays the workers enough that they are guilty when they don’t give their best to the church. Yes, God is who they serve and they don’t serve for money. But the point here is that, they are paid enough to feed themselves and their families. Their attention is not taken away by worries of provision. They work full time in the church with a full content heart. I am telling you, this church is growing and maturing faster than any other traditional stingy churches. And you know why.
I know money is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10) but that is in a different context. Paul never meant to say the preacher or anyone for that matter to live in poverty. In plain terms he taught his readers not to make money their master. For the record, Paul in Galatians 6: 6 encouraged the church to share and give to the preacher; “Now the one who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with the one who teaches it.” It is imperative for the church to see that their preacher is well fed.
It is high time for the church and people alike to do away with the myth that preachers should be poor. I am not vouching, make them Bill Gates rich. Pay them enough and keep them sufficient and content. How can we expect them to sing ‘Hallelujah’ in the church while their children go hungry and angry at home? How can we expect them to preach on the new identity of believers in Christ while their children suffer inferiority complex? Make the preachers rich if we can, if not, at least pay them sufficient to survive without suffering.
