I exhort the elders among you: 2 Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but freely, according to God’s will; not for the money but eagerly;” 1 Peter 5:2 HCSB
Peter is writing to the leaders of the churches to be the best example of Christ. He gives three ways to accomplish this. The first two are here in verse 2 and the last is in verse 3.
First, we must shepherd God’s flock not because we have too but because we have a genuine concern for those in the flock.
Those people who find themselves serving because they have to has missed the heart of Jesus with His love for all humanity. He had compassion on the crowd and feed them. He had compassion on the woman whom society has rejected. He was moved with compassion for a city that no longer worshiped God but was too engrossed in religion to see where God was moving next. He was moved with compassion for the public tax collector that He went to his house for a meal. Jesus regularly ate meals in the homes of people who were the outcast of society. One time He was eating at the religious leader's house and rebuked him for not caring for the needs of his guests. Jesus’ heart was for all people no one was above or below His compassion. If we are serving with no compassion for the people in our group then we need to step aside for a time and find Jesus’ heart of compassion again.
Second, we are to shepherd God’s flock, not for the money, but eagerly. Those of us who get paid should be paid because a worker is worthy of being paid. But if we are only doing because it is a job to pay the bills then your heart has missed the motive. We have to want to help others. The humdrum of everyday work can get us down, but a renewed effort can be found in Jesus and God’s word every day.
God knows we need money to sustain a living, but our job is to lean on Jesus, not on our paycheck. If we work only for the money we will become disheartened and do our job to the least amount of effort needed to get paid. But if Jesus is our reason behind everything we do then we will find joy in all we do. After all, Jesus is our Boss and our bosses are only in charge because Jesus has given them the power to be there.
“Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, in order to please men, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.”
Colossians 3:22-24 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/col.3.22-24.hcsb
“No household slave can be the slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t be slaves to both God and money.””
Luke 16:13 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/luk.16.13.hcsb
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life — a ransom for many.””
Mark 10:45 HCSB
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