We fear for those who make money out of the word of GOD

We fear for those who make money out of the word of GOD

(2 Corinthians 2:17)for we are not peddlers of the word of God as many men are, but as out of sincerity, yes, as sent from God, under God’s view, in company with Christ, we are speaking.

Peddling God’s Word for selfish profit—how repulsive such a thought!

Paul did not seek financial gain by preaching that Word so as to live a life of ease, eventually to retire from the ministry and take it easy the rest of his days. He was willing to make tents as sideline work to provide funds for himself and help his associates in Jehovah’s service. (Acts 18:1-4) Paul did not become a financial burden to those to whom he preached the good news. So he could ask the Corinthian Christians: “Did I commit a sin by humbling myself that you might be exalted, because without cost I gladly declared the good news of God to you?” (2 Corinthians 11:7) That question had to be answered with a positive no!

Today Jehovah’s Witnesses imitate the apostle’s fine example in not peddling the priceless Word of God but in making it available to all. They do not commercialize such a holy thing. Thus they have no paid clergy, their public speakers do not charge for lectures, and a collection plate is never passed at their meetings. If anyone desires to contribute money for the work, he can drop any amount, even one like the widow’s “two small coins of very little value,” into a contribution box at the Kingdom Hall or elsewhere. (Luke 21:1-4) Such freewill contributions are used to defray expenses and not to enrich any individual. Even private homes are freely opened for meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses.—Philemon 1, 2.
Jesus’ instructions to his disciples precluded teaching for hire. “You received free, give free,” he counseled. (Matthew 10:8)
Jesus issued that instruction to his apostles when he sent them forth to preach the good news. Did the apostles obey this directive? Yes, and they continued to do so even after Jesus departed from the earth.

Sad to say, many who claim to be followers of Christ have not shown the same willingness to “give free.” Indeed, many of the religious leaders in Christendom will “instruct just for a price.” (Micah 3:11) Some religious leaders have even become wealthy from money collected from their flocks. In 1989, one U.S. evangelist was sentenced to a jail term of 45 years. The reason? He had been “defrauding supporters of millions of dollars and using some of the money to buy homes, cars, holidays and even an air-conditioned dog kennel.”—People’s Daily Graphic, October 7, 1989.

True Christians today are motivated primarily by a desire to please Jehovah—not to enrich themselves.
God’s Free Gift of Undeserved Kindness
Another reason true Christians are willing to “give free” is that they themselves have “received free” from God. Mankind is in bondage to sin and death because of the sin of our forefather Adam. (Romans 5:12) Lovingly, Jehovah arranged for his Son to die a sacrificial death—something that cost God dearly. Mankind is certainly not entitled to this. No, it is a gift from God.—Romans 4:4; 5:8; 6:23.

From the faithful slave WT