The Gospels Burden On The Preacher

"For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."Matthew 23:4 KJV

It would be not only erroneous but grievous for any preacher or figure head whether under an official or unofficial tag to assume that the burden or responsibility incurred by the gospel when it’s being preached is solely on the hearers and not on the one who is presenting the gospel.

It’s this subtle deception I reckon which makes many preachers and teachers of Gods infallible word assume that being a transit vessel of the gospel is all that there is to the equation. But it must be well emphasized that truth is not only reserved for hearers but in the same vein those that are fortuned to speak truth must equally be particularized by the gravity of their own words and utterances.

If what you are saying and delivering to the masses does not maintain the ability to change and influence you then I’m afraid the job is only partly done. Its not surprising that there are many who teach things they themselves are not willing to imbibe because they would believe that they are above and beyond their own words unlike the hearers. Just like the Pharisees in the days of Jesus who took great pleasure at instructing others to follow precepts and counsels they themselves were actively and shamelessly flouting. The scriptures spoke of the Pharisees as individuals who were willing to place moral burdens on others without having any personal obligations themselves to honor those same moral codes. They knew of the mortal difficulties that men generally encounted in an attempt to obey and apply the law but they themselves were not bothered or purturbed enough to exemplify those precepts that they sort to push down the people’s throat.

Jesus in this scenario would be our perfect example of how things are suppose to be. He as a man that He was, knew and understood the very temptations and shortcomings that all men were subjected to and yet thought us through His own life that what you say as a preacher must very well at some point be reflective of what first and foremost takes root in your own life. The message must equally have relevance to you and in you. Any preacher or teacher for that matter must feel the responsibility of Gods word on his or her own life just as he would expect those who hear the message to have a sense of responsibility. No individual is above the reproof , correction and tutelage of the gospel including the preacher man or woman. Maybe preachers will become less unwholesomely judgemental when they begin to discover that all of us are under the correction and rebuke of Gods word and that none of us at any time will have all it takes to get it right all the time. Preachers will begin to see that everyone else is trying their very best through Gods spirit to be pleasing to God.

We are not in any way suggesting that ultimate perfection will always be the story of the preacher come what may. Not at all. What I am actually saying is that despite our own inefficiencies and short comings we must be willing to allow the truth of God’s word stay in us as it goes through us from us. The greatest preacher is not the one who just tells others what to do. The greatest preacher is one who is willing to tell himself the truth first and then bold enough to share that same truth with others.

Ernest kobby Baah

D.V