The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1877-03-29
Sponging Upon Ministers.

wholly to the work of the ministry,
and it is the divine principle, com
mending itsel. to every mans con-
science as just, that they who preach
the gospel, should live of the gos
pei; that is, that they who receive
the word should give of their means s
to sustain him who ministers to
them. The Levites lived of the
temple which they served. When
the Lord separated the tribe of
Levi to bear the ark, to stand before
the Lord, to minister unto him, he
ordained that Levi should have no
part nor inheritance with the breth-
ren, but the Lord would be his in
heritance.
1t Is on this principle that we ar
raign the people who treat minis
ters of religion as men whose duty
it is to serve them without return,
as ifthey, the ministers, were at the
beck and call of everybody who
wanted religious services, whether
in this parish or that, or in none at
all. Because Protestant ministers
are willing to be imposed upon, is
no justification of the impositions
to which they are subjected. We
| never heard of such a minister re-
fusing to liste= to a call, however
severe the tax upon his time and
strength, or however unreasonable
the demand. 1t is therefore not
because they complain, that we re-
monstrate.
But because it is the dictate of
the gospel, and evidently the thing
right and decent to be done, we
claim that the spiritual services
of a minister should be met with
those temporal returns that enable
him to bear his burdens and do his
work in life. This IS the measure
of his salary, and hence it is that
the call of pastor, in some demon
nations, includes this phrase: "that
you may be free from worldly cares,
we hereby promise you the sum
Of" thus stipulatIng to relieve
his mind from anxiety on the score
of support. Yet 50 common is the
notion of a minister being public
property, he is called upon as freely
by persons outside of his parish.
for extra services, as if he were the
universal bishop paid by general
tax for the public good.
One minister, whom we know
well, was invited to attend a funeral
in this city, and the weather made
it necessary for him to hire a car
riage, which he did, and paid for it
himself, while the family whom he
served were abundantly able to pro-
vide it and make him some return
besides. They did neither.
For another minister a carriage
was sent, and at the house he was
graVely informed that all the car
riages would be required for the
friends to go to the cemetery. He
was compelled to walk long dis
tance in extremity bad weather,
without even being thanked for his
toilsome labors.
Still another minister, to our
knowledge, was sent for to 60 into
another city to attend g funeral SER
vice; he went, paying his railroad
fare both ways and losing two days
of precious time, receiving a profu- |
sion Of thanks and only thanks, not
even his expenses being refunded. |
There was money enough to buy |
floral decorations in pTofusion, but
not cent for the Levite of the Lord. |
We know also of cases just the
opposite character; one instance oc-
ours where a family of wealth spent
no money upon flowers or pomp of
any kind, but to each one of the !
ministers who attended the funeral. /
invited or not, n handsome acknowl- |
edgcment was made, in the most ac
ceptable form.
Now in these remarks we wish to
be understood as making the dis
tinction clear between paying for
services rendered and giving to the
Lords minister that which the Mas
ter himself has enJoined as right
and proper. The worldly may crit
icise the complaint as mercenary,
but the justice and propriety Of the
demand we make, no Christian will
deny. And it becomes the more
important when it is remembered /
that the most of men, however un-
godly or Indifferent they are, wish
the minister to come in the hour of
their calamity. To bury the dead
child without religious service, is to
bury it like dog. And so the de-
cencies of society, if not the de-
mands OF the soul, require a man
who has no church relations what
ever, to send for q minister to his
child's funeral. But, in nineteen
cases out of twenty, even such a
man regards the service as his right,
and never feels the duty OF acknowl-
edging it as from the Lord.
We might speak of the sponging
upon ministers by congregations
willing to get free preaching, as
much as possible, but that is so
thoroughly understood, and the
habit is so inveterate, we gave it up
in despair long time ago. There is
less. of that kind of sponging done
now, than formerly, and what re-