Who Cares!

I don't know about you, but I fall into the trap of being too critical of people sometimes. This is especially true of those who are in the ministry. Because they don't do things like I would do them, I find myself being critical and judging their motives. This is not a healthy thing to do. Listen to what Paul says about this:

"It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does that matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice."
Philippians 2:15-18

Who cares! The important thing is that Christ is being preached! Paul could rejoice or the successes of others whose motives might not have been pure because Christ was being proclaimed. What is that to Paul? He was not responsible to deal with the motives of other people, and I can imagine that was hard at times. I bet there was a little, "My dad is bigger than your dad" type of thing going on. Paul was very successful at winning the lost to Christ because of the Power of God, and some were probably trying to compete for the spotlight. Wow! Paul basically says, let them compete...Christ is being preached! Am I a judge of motives? And if the motive is clear, do I get upset or rejoice over the fact that Christ is being proclaimed? I need to rejoice over other people's ministries all the time, not fall into the trap of being critical over some. The important thing is...Christ is being preached! That is something I can rejoice over! What about you? Do you tend to be critical of other people's ministry? Has it made you bitter? Or can you rejoice over what is important...Christ is being preached?

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