Both in person and online, I have quite often encountered an annoying sort of person with an unbiblical, illogical opinion that pastors should quite literally work full-time for free.
Mind you, I do not encounter this at all at my church; my people actually read and study their Bibles. Facebook is a hotbed of that sentiment, though, as are some other places and forums.
One of my members approached me recently about this topic. She had been confronted by a relative who spouted that opinion. She wisely asked him a few questions. “Who do you expect to sit with you in the hospital while you are having surgery? Who do you expect to do months of marriage counseling with you when your home is in trouble? Who do you expect to spend 20 or 30 hours a week studying and preparing for messages?”
There were some that I could have added, such as: “Who do you expect to interrupt his vacation and drive home to preach the funeral of a family member? Who do you expect to perform weddings, do baptisms, pursue those who start missing church, knock on doors to win souls, take phone calls from hurting people at all hours of the night, be in the church office available for all comers nearly every day of the week and, in my personal case, physically build the church buildings, do all of the electrical work, all of the maintenance, all of the plumbing and, for the first 18 years of the church until we got big enough to hire help, do all of the cleaning on the inside and lawn work on the outside?”
Paul the apostle dealt effectively and thoroughly with this foolish type of individual in the very first generation of the church. In 1 Corinthians Chapter 9, he had encountered that exact type of mentality. In verses 6-11, he said, “Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working [a secular job]? Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal [monetary, fleshly] things?”