I Timothy 3:10 And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.
To Be or To Do
I landed a really big part in my kindergarten graduation play as one of Little Bow Peep’s sheep. Now I didn’t have any speaking part, but I had a big cotton ball outfit to make me look like one of Little Bow Peep’s sheep. Somehow people failed to see the brilliance of my acting. All joking aside, a lot of us have a hard time distinguishing between the character we have and the role we play. We see ourselves as little more than the part we play. The role that God has given you in life is important, but you are more than the job you have or the calling that God has given you.
In I Timothy 3, God is giving instructions to those who will serve in special ways in the church. He talks to both pastors and people in the church. In I Timothy 3:10, He says of deacons, “And let these also first be proved, then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.”
Now what I want you to see is that there is a difference between the office I “use” and the person that I am. I Timothy 3 is not about how gifted a person is; it is about the choices such a person makes and the character they possess.
Verse 1 says, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” Such a man is not to seek the honor, he is to seek the work, and it is honorable work. A bishop must then be. It doesn’t say a bishop then must do, but that he then must be. The point is that God is more interested in the character you have than in the part you play. Now they aren’t mutually exclusive. One is foundational to the other. The way I use the office that God had entrusted to me depends upon how seriously I take the character, integrity, and decisions of my life.
If all you do is view yourself as the sum and substance of your gifts or office, your calling or place, then you are missing out. It’s not wrong to identify yourself with whatever God calls you to do, but you are more than what God has called you to do.
Any job I have is but a stewardship. The integrity I possess or lack is something for which I alone will be accountable to God. Realize that you will use your office best when you are the person God made you to be in daily areas of responsibility.