¹²But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, ¹³and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work…

Elders and local church leaders like this verse but have difficulty teaching it because of the apparent conflict of interest. We have just seen that we are to encourage one another, and a preacher can certainly expound that from the pulpit with a sense of common challenge to himself and others. But to preach this passage we are studying today is not quite so easy.

Paul spent a short amount of time with his readers, maybe six months tops. So he is not secretly hoping the Thessalonians will practice this passage toward him. Perhaps this is best left for visiting preachers (like Paul), but local church leaders should not abdicate so quickly, for they, emulating the apostle Paul, are burdened with teaching the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27).

One could imagine Paul deflecting any resulting appreciation for him, and that may have happened if there was any appreciation forthcoming. There certainly wasn’t much in Corinth, which was, as we have repeatedly mentioned, the locale from which Paul was writing. Maybe the situation in Corinth, where encouragement and appreciation were in short supply, heightened his awareness of the need for this teaching. So instead of writing this to the Corinthians, he writes to the Thessalonians about how to treat those who labor among them. God in His providence has preserved this for all churches to read and obey.

The Lord has raised up those who “diligently labor” among His people. These may be bi-vocational people who are financially self-supporting but give huge amounts of time to building others up. It may be those who deserve “double honor” for working hard at preaching and teaching (1 Tim. 5:17–8). It would certainly include the elders who have been given charge over the local congregation. They are to be esteemed “very highly in love.”

What does this mean? It is easy to criticize the local church leaders—their flaws and shortcoming are much more easily seen than in the person who sits quietly in the pew. Elders have stepped up to the call of God on their lives, to sacrifice their time, to step into the line of fire, so to speak. They are willing to shoulder the burdens of the church. They deserve the appreciation and esteem of the individual members of the congregation. Of course, they are not perfect. But they deserve better than our criticism or indifference. We should “esteem them highly in love because of their work.” Thus saith the Lord!

Lord, thank You for those who have sacrificed to shepherd our congregation!