THE IMPORTANT THING

Lord, keep my focus on the important thing…

That Christ be preached both far and near.

No matter what the speaker’s motivation,

Let your word come through loud and clear.

“But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way,

whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.

And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.”

Philippians 1:18

prŏphasis⁴³⁹² – an outward showing, i.e. pretext: - cloke, colour, pretence, show.

chairō⁵⁴⁶³ – a prim. verb; to be “cheer”ful, i.e. calmly happy or well-off; impers. espec. as salutation (on meeting or parting), be well: - farewell, be glad, God speed, greeting, hail, joy (-fully), rejoice.

Televangelists – no, Paul didn’t have to deal with them. However, he is talking about the very type of person we think of when we hear that word. Before the verse above Paul described people that were preaching out of selfish motives and some even to try to cause him further harm. Then he makes the conscious choice to focus on the most important thing – that Christ be proclaimed.

Paul also chooses to rejoice. He can be calmly happy because he knows through the Spirit that God is in control even of those who are insincere. He knows that God sees beyond the words and looks into the motives of people. God sees our inmost thoughts. Paul can trust God to deal with those who are out for their own gain and knows that God has the power to even further his kingdom through them.

The Lord uses whom he chooses to use. It does not matter if I approve of their methods or even their motivation. The important thing is that the Gospel be proclaimed. God can even use those who think they are working against him to unwittingly drive people toward him. I don’t need to fret about those who seem insincere or motivated by selfish gain. I can follow Paul’s example and trust God to shine his light on people.

Paul once referred to himself as “the chief of sinners” (I Timothy 1:15). If God can use a sinner like Paul to proclaim his word, he might even choose to use a sinner like me or you. Apart from his marvelous grace we are all completely unworthy to serve him. How dare we waste our energy fretting over whether or not someone else is proclaiming him rightly? We just need to expend more energy telling others the good news and trust God with the results!

Father, help me to keep my focus on what is important…knowing you and helping others to know you. Let me worry less about how others are using the gifts you have given and expend more energy in hearing your voice on how to use what you’ve placed within me.