READ : 2 Timothy 3:10-17
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God…” – Acts 20:28
At no time in the history of Christianity has the conduct and lifestyle of the clergy come under such scrutiny! The onus therefore falls on us who are called into this ministry to live up to certain standards.
The challenges and realities of modern-day ministry are fraught with all sorts of pressures. The pressures of finances, the pressures of family and the pressures of human expectations are just a few of the many demands of ministry. These pressures in the Lord’s work, are often the causes of improper behaviour in a minister’s relations with others. In the ministry, an oversight can lead to improper conduct and create an unfortunate misrepresentation of what we stand for.
When God calls a man, He calls him first to follow Him, and then to learn of Him. We are never to stop learning. The ministry is a long road of continuous education. One of the things that Paul instructed us to learn of him was his manner of life. In other words, we are to follow the ethical principles that influenced his professional conduct as a minister.
Ethical practices are upright, sound, honourable, moral, lawful, above-board, and full of integrity. Unethical behaviour on the other hand, is that which is indecent, unfair, improper, dishonourable, shady, unscrupulous and maybe even crooked.
It is my prayer that as God’s minister, you will adopt guidelines which are profitable for instruction in righteousness.