{"id":55988,"date":"2010-11-20T21:23:00","date_gmt":"2010-11-21T03:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=55988"},"modified":"2022-11-20T21:27:01","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T03:27:01","slug":"dont-muzzle-the-ox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dont-muzzle-the-ox\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Muzzle the Ox"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Sam Stinson\n

“For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop.<\/em>” (I Corinthians 9:9-10, ESV)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"What effects have resulted from generations of mothers working full-time outside their careers as homemakers by necessity, not a choice? Few would argue against the right of mothers to choose to work outside the home, circumstances pending, yet what about conditions that force them to work? When a family has certain expenses and its income cannot meet them based solely on the husband’s salary, this is often when women make the sacrifice for their families and enter the working world to make ends meet. This can sometimes be avoided by reducing unnecessary expenses or by the husband increasing his skill through training to enter a higher-paying career. Indeed, children need their mothers and husbands need their love too (cf. I Timothy 2:15). The husband unwilling to support his wife compelling her to work full-time misunderstands the stewardship God has given him and his role as head and provider (cf. Genesis 50:21; I Timothy 5:8; I Corinthians 11:7).<\/p>\n

Likewise, Paul wrote of a situation in which the church might take the same attitude: forcing its evangelists to work full-time outside of the one career of preaching and teaching. Few would argue against the right of preachers to choose to work outside of preaching, circumstances pending, yet what about conditions that force them to work? What effects have resulted from generations of preachers working full-time outside of preaching by necessity, not a choice? Paul argued that evangelists have the right to have their basic needs met by the church: to take a wife, have children, and have their needs met, and to refrain from working a secular job (I Corinthians 9:3-6). It is not only the local church that meets these needs but all Christians, all churches, willing to partner with evangelists in meeting their needs (Philippians 4:15; II Corinthians 11:8).<\/p>\n

Evangelists avoid a second career by avoiding unnecessary expenses, but churches should not muzzle these men as they labor (I Corinthians 9:9-10). In the same way that Israel supported its priests, the church should support its evangelists’ needs solely through the gospel (I Corinthians 9:13-14). The army that supports this soldier and his family is the church; The vineyard that feeds both the keeper and his family is the church; The flock that provides milk for the farmer and his family is the church (I Corinthians 9:7). Remember: the Lord God has secured these rights. As the needs of evangelists grow, let us recognize that it is the stewardship of all Christians to support evangelists and their families, not just the local church. The worker is worthy of his wages.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Sam Stinson “For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1511],"class_list":["post-55988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-preachers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":55093,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-charge-for-marriage-counseling\/","url_meta":{"origin":55988,"position":0},"title":"Is it wrong to charge for marriage counseling?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Jeffrey, I hope you are well. I have this desire to be a counselor on relationships and marriage, Also, I have this desire to do public speaking. My dream is to help people in these areas while serving God. I have signed with someone, who does these things,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25397,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-churches-support-retired-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":55988,"position":1},"title":"Should churches support retired preachers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was reading some articles on your church web site,\u00a0one concerning paying preachers, written by Terry Benton. I was trying to find New Testament scripture for continuing to pay a retired preacher, I guess like retirement for years of service. I am wanting the Bible to be my guide,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":78477,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-right-to-be-paid-to-clean-a-church-building\/","url_meta":{"origin":55988,"position":2},"title":"Is it right to be paid to clean a church building?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello! I have a question regarding the church treasury and its use. I've been going to an institutional church of Christ with my family, as I don't have a driver's license to attend the non-institutional church the next town over. I clean for the church. Is it proper for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8817,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-pay-a-preacher\/","url_meta":{"origin":55988,"position":3},"title":"Is it wrong to pay a preacher?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 25, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it a sin to pay a preacher? Personally I don't think it is, but some of our brethren in the church think it is. Can you give me some scripture for this, either not to pay or pay the preacher? Answer: \"My defense to those who examine me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1433,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-preacher-be-paid-to-hold-a-gospel-meeting\/","url_meta":{"origin":55988,"position":4},"title":"Should a preacher be paid to hold a gospel meeting?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 11, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: One brother raised an objection that he believed that a preacher shouldn't be paid anything for holding a gospel meeting! The reason being that it would be paying to hear the gospel preached. What do you think? Answers: \"My defense to those who examine me is this: Do we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93183,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-dont-preachers-follow-pauls-example-and-not-accept-pay-for-preaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":55988,"position":5},"title":"Why don’t preachers follow Paul’s example and not accept pay for preaching?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In I Corinthians 11:1, we are commanded to follow the example of the Bible, so why don't preachers today follow Paul's example and not take money for preaching so as not to hinder the Gospel of Christ? Reason I ask this question is because from 1950s-1970s preachers were ranked\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55988\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}