August 14, 2007
Muzzle It
“Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” (1 Cor 9:19a NIV) is another way of saying, ‘let the ox eat while he’s working’. Paul refers to this passage of Scripture to illustrate that ministers of the gospel should be allowed to eat (or be paid) while doing their work. I think muzzling is more than just keeping workers from earning a respectable wage. A muzzle is also a means to keep people from speaking. In some cases we use self-imposed muzzlement in order to stay politically correct. However in other instances, a man’s ego and pride may be used to muzzle what he sees as opposition. We can hinder the voice of the Spirit by simply putting a muzzle on it.
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Gail;
-----That is an interesting analogy. If it were not for the human element in the church, the church would be perfect. If the church leaders were not human they also would be perfect. Although they are willing to verbally admit they are not perfect, they are unwilling to be either specific about their imperfections or to act in accordance with even their general admission of them. They fear their goals and agendas might become altered, or even discontinued. They seem to fear for their leadership roles more than they fear for those in their care.
-----Our world does not operate on the basis of humility and adjustment. It operates on arrogance and competition. Of course, competition in its place is good. On the sports field it is entirely about competition. And in the divergence of diametrically opposed objectives and ideas, there must be displacement rather than adjustment. No man standing before the judgment throne screaming, “Allah Ahkbar!” with the blood and horror of exploded women and children drenching him will enter into the joy of the Lord. However, Paul tells us to accept our brother in the Lord, to acknowledge him and welcome him not for disputes, but for his edification. That takes a bit of humility and adjustment sometimes.
-----On the other hand, there is a boundary to how much difference can be accepted. Paul tells us to watch out for those who come preaching a different Jesus or a different gospel. He tells us to be careful to follow the teachings that were laid out for us by the apostles. Humility is not a head-saw for opening a brain-sized hole through which to dump all that has been proven for whatever else may present itself. Humility is an openness to possibilities, not a reception of strangers. Humility brings an idea into mind for testing against known truth, not for blind acceptance as truth. The church is both shaped by the thinking of its members as well as involved in shaping the thinking of its members. As such, the maintenance of the general proximity to the truth of the thoughts, opinions, and sentiments circulating within must become the responsibility of someone.
-----Like you, I can relate the muzzling of the ox to what happens in too many churches by overly arrogant leaders. But as long as I have known about oxen treading the grain, I have wondered what manner of precaution was taken about the business of the ox’s other end. Protecting the grain from that byproduct while regarding the flow of appropriate thought and feeling as the intellectual property of the Holy Spirit is the attitude of a humble church leader.
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