Behind the Scenes

by Russell M. Kline

 

"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have the glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly." (Mat. 6:1-4)

 

Once upon a time, I knew a brother in Christ who was very much like the "hypocrites" mentioned in the text quoted above. He would do good works only if he knew that he would receive some kind of recognition for doing them. Most members of the congregation considered him to be a living example of the hypocrisy that Jesus preached against, in His ministry on Earth. Christ taught His disciples to gain the attention and favor of the Heavenly Father through humility and self-denial (Mat. 20:25-28). On one occasion, Jesus instilled this lesson in the minds of His apostles, when He arose from their last supper, before His death, and washed their feet, saying: "I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you" (John 13:1-17).

 

 For most members of the churches of Christ, serving the Lord means working "behind the scenes." Since God has forbidden women from taking a leading role in the corporate worship of the church (I Tim. 2:8-15), most Christians never get the opportunity to serve Christ in a major public forum. Even among male Christians, there is a limited number who are blessed with the talent to preach, or to lead singing, or to lead worshippers in some other way (Rom. 12:5-8). Brethren in these situations can still be valuable assets to the Lord, and to His church, even if everyone in the brotherhood does not know their names, and they never receive even one expression of thanks or praise from their fellow men. Centuries ago, Paul wrote about how even the most comely parts of the human body are not greater than the body itself, and that they are completely dependent upon the rest of the body for their existence (I Cor. 12:14-26). So it is in the body of Christ: for every "great" preacher you have ever heard of, there are thousands of brethren whose names you have never heard, who serve the Lord in humility, every day (I Cor. 12:27-30).

 

This has been the case throughout the history of the Lord's church. In the New Testament, we may read of many brethren who were not as well known as the apostles, or other evangelists and great leaders of the church, but their contribution to the cause of Christ was no less significant. We can learn a great deal from the examples of our ancient brethren who toiled in obscurity; working "behind the scenes."

 

 One of the first examples that comes to mind is that of Aquila and Priscilla. They were a married couple with whom Paul became friends, while he was in Corinth (Acts 18:1-3). At some point, Paul converted them, and they traveled with him to Ephesus (Acts 18:18,19). While in Ephesus, they studied with Apollos, ans some believe that they helped him to become the next preacher for the church of Christ in Corinth (Acts 18:24-28). Later, they went to Rome, where they received greetings and commendations from Paul (Rom. 16:3-5a). Although we cannot read about any great miracles they performed, or any grea


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