Faithful Workers

Acts 15:38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

38 Παῦλος δὲ ἠξίου, τὸν ἀποστάντα ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν ἀπὸ Παμφυλίας καὶ μὴ συνελθόντα αὐτοῖς εἰς τὸ ἔργον μὴ συμπαραλαμβάνειν τοῦτον.

This is part of a passage that church polity folks like to discuss.  Who was in the right here?  Should John Mark get a second chance?  Or was Paul right?  I typically side with Paul, but he was certainly not infallible and I think he would be the first to tell you that.

What I do think it shows us is that there is value in being consistently faithful in ministry.  If you want to be an asset to your church then you need to show yourself faithful.  It doesn't take too many missed appointments to be seen as a "flake."  That's true in life as well.  I know some people who I can count on and others who I expect will change things at the last minute.

Obviously sometimes last-minute changes are legitimate.  Cars break down, people get sick, etc.  Other times there are just things that come up.  With some people those things are a pattern.  That tells everyone else that these other things really occupy a higher priority in our lives.  That's fine if that's the case, but understand that is what you implicitly communicate when you regularly change plans at the last minute.

I don't want to be known as someone who τὸ ἔργον μὴ συμπαραλαμβάνειν τοῦτον..  I want to show myself faithful, amen?