Put Him at Ease

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 16:10-11

And if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do.  Therefore let no one despise him. But send him on his journey in peace, that he may come to me; for I am waiting for him with the brethren.

If you are an extrovert, you may not relate at all to what I am describing. If you lean more toward the introverted side of things, you will get it. But every once in a while, maybe while you are traveling or on vacation, visit a church where you don’t know anyone. Get a fresh taste of the discomfort of being the stranger among a group of people who all know each other. Take note of how you feel when greeted, or maybe when you are not greeted.

What every church needs are a few (maybe a lot) people who have the gift of setting strangers at ease. The New King James Version of this verse is quoted above. It says, “that he may be with you without fear.” The English Standard Version says, “that you put him at ease among you.”

Paul wanted the church to put Timothy in a state of comfort within their congregation. We could critique Timothy and say that he just needs to mature and become more at ease around people. Maybe that is true. We all have our things to be accountable for. But it shouldn’t become an excuse to shirk our responsibility to help others with their discomfort.

We need people who set other people at ease, who make it where they don’t feel fearful to be one among us.