Share
anglican devotional

The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 3 October 2025 – Qualified To Serve?

Click HERE to Read Previous MESSAGES

TOPIC – Qualified To Serve?

READ: 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (NKJV)

  1. This [is] a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.
  2. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;
  3. not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;
  4. one who rules his own house well, having [his] children in submission with all reverence
  5. (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);
  6. not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the [same] condemnation as the devil.
  7. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

THE MESSAGE:

Many today desire to be leaders in God’s house. In our Communion, it seems many in the holy orders see the bishopric as the ultimate that must be aspired for, and campaigned for, if necessary. The word ‘bishop’ in our passage, can mean ‘overseer.’ While it is not wrong to desire to be a leader in God’s house, it must never be at all costs. It is interesting to note that there are qualifications for leaders, as we see in today’s passage. For one, the person must have a good testimony (within and outside the Church), and there are ways to measure this. For one, he must be gentle, not quarrelsome. It may be easy for many not to be quarrelsome outside. But what about at home? A quarrelsome man at home, often in disagreement with his wife and other family members, is not qualified to lead God’s people.

A man known for quick temper should also not aspire for leadership office in God’s house.
Moreover, one who is desiring the office of a bishop must be humble. Pride is what ruined Satan and can also destroy a Christian leader. Pride has to do with an open consciousness of your perceived worth; it has to do with an over-emphasized opinion of one’s self. The testimony of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther’s service points to the direction of a humble service, rendered in one of the most trying circumstances. Dare we be different?

PRAYER: O, for a humble heart I pray.

Share