Alma 1:26 Book of Mormon
“And when the priest left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God. And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God they all returned again diligently unto their labors; and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner, and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength.” (Alma 1:26)
This is a fundamental misunderstanding of what the pastoral office is about. It is not about one person setting himself above another. Jesus instructs that we are not to Lord it over others as the gentiles do. (Matthew 20) Rather everyman has his own strengths as Alma even acknowledges. This is why I’m inclined to take my car to a Mechanic rather than doing the most trivial jobs on my vehicle. Sure I can do a few things, but it isn’t my strength. I’m an intellectual, I’m a theologian. I’m not a mechanic, plumber, farmer, etc. So I labor in my study, and at the bedside of hospital patients, the homes of bereaved, and in imparting the gospel one on one, or teaching Bible studies, or refuting a person for false doctrine, as well as preaching from the pulpit. That is where my strength is. And believe me you don’t want me working on your car. And in truth, the work of my mechanic, assuming he is Christian, is just as blessed a work as anything I do.
But that is where this is insulting. Because the Book of Mormon despises this office and vocation which has the divine institution of Christ. It makes teaching the word of God to be of lesser value than the work of a mechanic. Why is it that we pay teachers to instruct in things for less weighty than the word of God, but when it comes to the Gospel we are to think anyone can do it? Or that this work has no value to it?
No comments:
Post a Comment