I see another evil under the sun---ministers "serving God" all their lives only to end up with rotten characters. And yet they're titled, degreed, and highly respected by their denominations and other pastors. In fact, the envy as well. They have "growing" ministries.
Photo by Anita Jankovic on Unsplash.
They probably started out good but in their final years, most of them just plain reversed in everything, especially in character. Their ministry grew in ever-increasing rottenness instead of ever-increasing glory---slowly, everything became about them and their ministries, their achievements and their trophies.
They become so self-centered, stubborn, impatient, biased and narrow-minded in old age, and I see this as an offshoot of their being blinded by their church denominational doctrines. They don't have an iota of interest about Jesus' prayer in John 17 (that all believers be in complete unity just as the Father and Son are one). All they care about is their church denomination and their role in it.
As they age, they love to be acknowledged and honored. They crave for it. They even set up church services and tributes in their honor. They'd give you anything if you praise them.
But no matter what they say or what excuses or justification they use, I will always go by the bible's standard: we should be getting better yet lowlier and meeker, drawing away attention from us, and still quietly grow more glorious each day and each year--in life attitude and character. We should be more like Jesus Christ.
...become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. [Ephesians 4.13]
The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. [Proverbs 4.18]
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. [2 Corinthians 3.18]I've always believed that as you age physically in Christ, you should become wiser in God, especially in living a simple life, keeping things simple and gaining a higher understanding that there's really nothing to boast about anything. Your achievements? They are all by God's grace alone. None of your "hard efforts" will amount to anything if not for God's permission and will. If there be any appreciation at all, it should come naturally from people, not forced, begged or planned for in a "tribute" to yourself.
It's ridiculous, but a lot of ministers crave for recognition, even to be placed up high on a pedestal. Let praise come from God, not from men, especially if it's synthetic praise.
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth;
an outsider, and not your own lips. [Proverbs 27]
But the saddest part is that, if we're all going to be honest, most of these tributes are nothing because they are often based on men's limited knowledge about a person.
A person who really knows God will keep getting contented with a simple life as he or she gets older. He will have God's wisdom to see that it's useless to be getting angry most of the time, that it's silly to set high standards for people to follow and, most of all, that godly character is everything. Success should be measured based on a person' character, not money or possessions.
But you seldom see this happen among church ministers. It seems the older most fo them get, the more their ways, thoughts and standards conform to what this world respects and puts value on.
