Justifiable Disgrace

Some, to be sure, preach Christ out of envy and strife, but others out of good will. These do so out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely, seeking to cause me trouble in my imprisonment. What does it matter? Just that in every way, whether out of false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice - Philippians 1:15-18 HCSB

[1] A wicked man once tried to disgrace a tzaddik by making it look like the elder had fallen into sin.[2] The righteous man did not fall into the trap[3] and went on about his ministry as usual. At the following worship service, the wicked man went to see if his plan had worked. Instead, he found the elder in front of the congregation reciting, “By this I know that You delight in me: my enemy does not shout in triumph over me. You supported me because of my integrity and set me in Your presence forever.”[4] Then the tzaddik bowed his head and prayed, “Yahweh Aman! Faithful God![5] May those who wish to harm me suffer no harm because of me! Let this be my prayer!”

Struck to the heart, the wicked man rushed to the front and knelt before the tzaddik, begging forgiveness. The elder gently took the man’s hand and stood him up. “There is nothing to forgive, brother,” he said. “Even if you had succeeded in your plan to disgrace me, it would only be the fate I deserve for all the other sins that I have committed.”

The apostle Paul possessed such exemplary humility. He knew that there were other people out there preaching, not out of a pure love of Christ, but out of envy for Paul’s popularity. They preached out of rivalry rather than righteousness. They were actually hoping that their growing congregations would be a source of trouble to Paul while he remained in jail and his ministries were forced to stagger on without him.

However, Paul echoed John the Baptist’s feelings, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”[6] As long as the attacks were simply against him, Paul did not defend himself. It was only when the attacks were against the church or could harm Christ’s bride that he went on the offensive.

We who serve in ministry need to get off our high horses and develop a thick skin. We need to rest, not in our reputations, but in the truth that the humble will have joy after joy in the LORD, and the poor people will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

For the ruthless one will vanish, the scorner will disappear, and all those who lie in wait with evil intent will be killed-- those who, with their speech, accuse a person of wrongdoing, who set a trap at the gate for the mediator, and without cause deprive the righteous of justice.[7]


[1] Rembrandt van Rinj, 1631 — Apostle Peter Kneeling
[2] Psalm 140:5-6; 141:9; 142:3
[3] Psalm 119:110; Proverbs 6:5
[4] Psalm 41:11-12
[5] Deuteronomy 7:9; Isaiah 49:7
[6] John 3:30
[7] Jeremiah 29:19-21