Share the Load

Message:  Acts chapter 6 shows us that the church exploded with growth to the point that there were complaints coming up among the Jews that their widows weren’t being financially cared for. As I processed through this it reminded me of the scripture in Proverbs about an empty stall having no poop to clean. I’m not comparing the widows to oxen and poop, but when things are healthy and thriving problems arise and more leadership and care is needed. When you have lots of kids you need more hands and more organization to care for the needs of the home. I love that these men didn’t minimize the problem, but they also didn’t divert their focus and stop their momentum of preaching the gospel. Instead they brought in godly men of character to take care of the financial needs so that the widows were well cared for and the gospel was still able to continue. Stephen was not just a financial or practical needs guy. He was full of the spirit and in fact so full that it irritated those who opposed and they eventually stoned him to death. We often hear “spiritual needs” and “practical needs” as separate things but I really don’t believe they are. I believe they are all encompassing and can’t be separated. This reminds me of the importance of having all hands on deck to accomplish all that needs to be done. As I relate this to my own life I can see where I have needed help delegating some of my home responsibilities to other family members to help carry the weight. I can’t be so bogged down with cooking, cleaning and managing that I crowd out my time for devotions and prayer, but I also can’t ignore the needs of the home either. For me this was a confirmation of the importance of order and sharing the load.

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