”For the Scripture is saying, ‘A threshing ox you will not muzzle,’ and, ‘Worthy [is] the worker of his wages.’”
-This first verse is taken straight from Deuteronomy 25.4 (cf 1Corinthians 9.9). The picture is that of an ox, employed in the business of treading over grain, separating the corn from the husk and rendering it fit for further production and consumption. But the upside of this for the ox was that - if unmuzzled - it could eat a portion of the grain while it was working. In other words, it could actually derive its livelihood from that in which it was employed (the livelihood of oxen of course consisting primarily of food). If you wanted to prevent that, and retain as much of the grain as possible for your own use, then you could put a muzzle on the ox and keep it from eating your grain. Which, mind you, the ox is laboring to produce for you. Talk about torture! All that food, literally at your feet, and not allowed to partake of even a morsel? That big 'ol ox is working his tail off for you - you (and I and all God's people) need to take good care of him! The more humane and compassionate (i.e. generous) tack then was to not do something which would otherwise hinder the ox from being able to obtain its livelihood from its labor. In other words, God in His Word is telling His people to be generous. Flat out generous. And compassionate. Don't torture your ox! Don’t be so miserly and strict that you place undue hardship on your animals. Or on your elders. Take care of these the best you can. That passage where Paul is writing to the Corinthians is totally about elders being compensated for their ministry to God’s people. God cares about animals, but He cares so much more for His people, including those who lead them. Be kind and generous towards those who lead you, he says. Give them enough to eat. Let them benefit from their labor.
-The second passage of Scripture which Paul quotes here is actually not a verse from the Old Testament (Paul’s Bible) but rather a statement from Jesus Himself (Luke 10.7, Matthew 10.10). Not a problem, of course - the words of our Lord are just as God-breathed as any other (if not more so!). Again, the passage from 1Corinthians 9 (cf 1Corinthians 9.13-14) makes it clear that this is about compensation. It is about God’s people providing for those who are employed in the so-called sacred services, in the “business” of the kingdom. There is a mindset which looks to separate the sacred from the secular, and looks at ministry as somehow not being real work, that considers work in fields like construction and engineering and medicine and education and business and retail as somehow being “real” work, and then subconsciously relegates church and missions work to a lower status - "These guys are really just living off the generosity of others" (just beggars when you think about it). There is another mindset which can do just the opposite, which relegates secular work to a lower status than "ministry" in the economy of heaven. Obviously what we have here is another both-and. It is always, whatever ever you do, whatever work it is that God has given you to do, do it to the best of your ability, AND be generous. AND instruct God’s people to be generous towards those who lead them (so two ands...!).
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