Someone You Can Trust
1 Thessalonians 2:3-6 NLT
3 So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.
4 For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. 5 Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! 6 As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.
It’s always a great thing to find someone you can trust. Trust is the foundation of any good relationship. In speaking with young preachers, I have encouraged them on the value of building trust with the people they are called to. More than talent or charm, trust is vital, particularly as you speak as a messenger of God.
Paul knew the value of trust, although I believe it was not something he had to work up. His heart and motives generated trust in the people that he was sent to. In our verses for today, we see some of the characteristics in Paul that made him someone you could trust.
He preached with pure motives and no smoke or mirrors. People can be fooled and that includes all of us. Paul used no tricks because he had no wrong motives. He simply wanted to help the people and to please God. Not please the people, but it was the Lord that Paul was out to please. And the Lord, unlike people, is never fooled. Paul knew that the Lord could discern motives, and Paul looked to the Lord as his judge, not to man.
I like how the NLT states another of Paul’s motives. It was not to win people over with flattery. I must admit this has always been a pet peeve of mine. Watching people flatter others really bothers me. Maybe because I realize how susceptible to flattery people are. So many are starved for affirmation and attention and easily swallow flattery. And I just despise watching people flatter others just to gain an advantage. Thank you, Paul, for setting a great example for the body of Christ by being genuine and not flattering people to get them on your side.
Paul says that he was not pretending to be a friend of the Thessalonians in order to get their money. This has to rank right up there with flattery in terms of being disingenuous and untrustworthy. Maybe worse because the motive is to separate people and their money. So not good! This causes so much scorn and contempt from the world when this pretending is done in the context of ministry. And Paul couples not pretending with the outright statement that he has never sought praise from people. Praise from people certainly happens in ministry.
Unfortunately, it’s too easy to forget that the gifting, wisdom and ability that blesses people is not from us. We don’t have anything that we have not received. Paul had a clear understanding of what God had given him, and he was not going to use his gifts to receive praise and honor from people.
You have to love this guy, Paul. His motives were to please God and help people. The only thing Paul seemed to desire was to finish his assignment from God and for people to come to know the salvation that is in Christ. Paul truly was someone you could trust.
Prayer
Lord, help me become a trustworthy person. Someone You can trust and someone who is a blessing to the people in my world.