“Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: as ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.” 1st Thessalonians 2:10-12

It is truly a deplorable thought that Paul had to endure so much suffering and ridicule. He was doing nothing wrong. He was simply preaching the gospel for the comfort of God’s people.

However, he was forced to defend his credibility time and time again because rabid unbelievers spoke poorly of him trying to hurt his reputation and message.

Perhaps, the next time we think about saying something bad about a particular preacher, we should consider the history of such a practice. Not only are we ridiculing the messenger, we are in essence defaming the message of Christ he is trying to preach!

Rather than sharing “fried preacher” for lunch with our friends and family, we could pray for God to bless our ministers. After all, it is for our own good! Rather than talking behind their backs, we could go directly to them and encourage them, ask them questions about what we don’t understand, and lovingly offer help to them if we feel they have made a mistake.

Yes, ministers of the gospel do need to lead by a good example. They should treat the flock of God with love and patience. But are we not all striving for the same mark? Are we not all trying to be more Christ-like in our walk and conversation. Is it not more like Jesus to forgive and help rather than ridicule and attack?