Press the arrow to listen to the Newsboys sing In Christ Alone as you read today’s devotion.

Scripture
You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us. 2 Corinthians 2:17

Observation

When a young leader is first called by God to be a preacher life is so simple. He is young, idealistic and and best of all poor. It is always easier to give Jesus everything when a preacher is wearing blue jeans with empty pockets. Mortgages and family make life complicated. The more that is added the fuzzier the whys of ministry can become.

Paul used an ugly word for some preachers: huckster. That barbed-wire epithet conjures up images of something between a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman and a side show hustler at the carnival. It’s an unpleasant word used for shock effect. Paul wanted leaders to run from the misuse of ministry straight into the arms of Christ.

To pastors whose lives have become complicated and whose motives have compromised, Paul reminds us that the goal of preaching is sincerity and authority. Sincerity comes from the Latin, meaning “without wax.” If a corrupt potter wanted to sell cracked pots, wax would be mixed with the appropriate color and the fissure would be filed. Honest potters stamped their pots with the word sine cere to attest that no wax had been used. Preaching gets its sincerity from a person solidly about Christ. Authority is speaking only what is spoken to him and not what he has conjured up on his own.

Application
How does a pastor get sincerity, authority and flee from the sleazy images of manipulation? By speaking every word with the awareness that God is listening. That simple fact clarifies every motive. Meeting the Lord at the end of life and giving account for every idle word spoken, is unavoidable. But the daily awareness of God’s eavesdropping is a personal choice. If I live with a consciousness of God’s constant inspection of me every word I speak will be attached to right motives.

Prayer
Father, I want this sincerity and authority, so open my eyes today to your listening presence. Amen.