millstone_ministry

The Millstone Ministry, by Randall D. Kittle

For many years, I have believed adamantly in and preached regularly about the priesthood of believers. Every believer is a minister before our Lord, ministering both to Him and to others. In the kingdom of Heaven, there is really no such thing as a “lay” minister. All believers are called to serve the Lord and each other in the body of Christ as the Holy Spirit leads.

Unfortunately, the ministry that some have entered into most effectively should be called the “Millstone Ministry.” Matthew 18:6 warns of this misfit ministry and the Lord’s loathing of it: “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” The Lord is the great defender of the little ones, the weak ones, and He comes against all who would lead them astray or cause them to stumble. While this verse obviously applies to children, I believe that is also the Lord’s heart for those who are young, small, or weak in their faith.

Being involved behind the scenes in a number of people’s lives, I have been shocked and sadden at the number of Christian families that I have seen torn and troubled, some even destroyed, because of problems with drinking alcohol. Yet, I continue to see Christian “friends” around them (and around others who could be the next victims) who are involved in “social drinking.” My concern is that some of these believers have entered into the ministry of the millstone — they are actually tools in the hand of the enemy to help cause others to stumble and fall. When asked about not drinking (or at least not doing it publicly where it might cause others to stumble) you will often hear them declare their freedom and ask for chapter and verse as to why they must abstain.

I wonder if they would truly need chapter and verse if they were to pick up the little one whose father isn’t around because of his problem with alcohol. I wonder how proud of their “freedom” they would be as they sit with a wife who is crying her eyes out because her husband is always off getting drunk and their marriage is sliding into a financial and marital abyss. Still they hold to their conviction while others continue to be harmed and suffer loss so they can practice their “freedom.” The funny thing is this seems to be just the opposite characteristic of Jesus Christ. Jesus suffered loss and harm so that we might have freedom!

Matthew 18 goes on to say: “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell” (verses 7–9). Who wants to be a woe in the eyes of God? Who wants to have a ministry to others whose reward is a millstone? The Lord says it is better to cut these things off! Any time that your freedom becomes a stumbling block that leads others into sin, you have entered into the ministry of the millstone, and it is time to cut off the offending behavior before too many “little ones” are hurt. Only this is Christ-like, and that is what being a Christian is really all about!