Are you up to the task?

Life in the Bottom of a Ship

Did you know that some ancient ships were driven, not only by wind and sail, but by slaves who rowed in the belly of a ship?  These slaves would sit on wooden benches, have their ankles chained to the floor, and spent their life rowing at their Captain’s command.  A drummer would pound out a beat that these rowers would have to work in unison to maintain.  These rowers would spend their life in this ship until they had nothing left to give.

I share that brief description because in 1 Corinthians 4:1, Paul said that he was an “under-rower”/servant (Gr. huperetes) of Christ?  Paul likened himself and other Christians to slaves in the belly of a ship.  Now then, Paul wasn’t comparing the conditions in the belly of a ship to that of being a servant of Christ, but I believe these points would be what he was trying to communicate.

Like an “under-rower,” a Christian should will:

  1. Follow the Captain’s beat.
  2. Cooperate with his fellow “rowers,” pull together.
  3. Not expect honor, just serve.
  4. Be committed for life.

Are you up to the task?

Steve Higginbotham

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