Insignificant People (An Exhortation To Leaders) -- By: Tom V. Taylor

Journal: Emmaus Journal
Volume: EMJ 20:1 (Summer 2011)
Article: Insignificant People (An Exhortation To Leaders)
Author: Tom V. Taylor


Insignificant People
(An Exhortation To Leaders)

Tom V. Taylor

Tom Taylor is Associate Professor Emeritus of Church History and Old Testament at Biblical Theological Seminary in Hatfield, Pennsylvania. Well-known and much loved in evangelical circles, he has an active preaching ministry in radio, writing, and Bible conferences. He and his wife Ruth live in Dublin, Pennsylvania.

The Lesson: In our sphere of service for the Lord, we must not overlook those who may be viewed as insignificant. As Francis Schaeffer once observed, “With God there are no little people.… There are no little places.”1

Introduction

The family of God is comprised of a great variety of people, and their common bond is the new birth. To be born again through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the hallmark of true Christianity, and within that identification are some of every race and social level. There is a wide variety of personalities with a broad spectrum of abilities and talents. There are some who have great prominence in this life because of their highly individualized abilities, but there are also those—an enormous body—who are viewed as insignificant because their contribution is small when compared with the “gifted.” This concept must be seen in the light of 1 Corinthians 1:26–29 with the reminder that there are not many very gifted persons as we perceive things and we all should be humble before God.

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God (1 Cor. 1:26–29).

In God’s presence no one may glory, but in the world of people we easily make evaluations of people and give them assignments accordingly. We consider a few gifted persons as being essential to the cause, while we consider others to be of lesser importance. We are drawn to the gifted and drawn away from the less gifted. This less gifted group may quickly be seen as insignificant and unimportant.

It is not wrong to be insignificant. It is not a moral deficiency. It is only a state or condition of being. It is not a liability, and one need not demean oneself in a false modesty. Many great deeds seen in t...

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