THE PLIMSOLL LINE (1 Corinthians Chapter 10)

1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Trials are an inevitable part of life and are of various kinds (i.e. common troubles, Job 5:7; relationship problems, Philippians 4:1-4; health issues, Philippians 2:27; temptations to sin, 1 Corinthians 10:13; sin failures, Luke 22:62; concern for loved ones, 2 Corinthians 11:28; loss of possessions, Hebrews 10:34; persecution, 1 Peter 4:14; and death, 1 Thessalonians 4:13; etc.

The Greek word translated “temptation” means to test or prove.  It has no negative connotation in itself.  Whether it constitutes a “trial with a beneficial purpose and effect” or a “trial definitely designed to lead to wrong doing” depends on our response (Vine’s Expository Dictionary).  A trial/temptation resisted serves as a test in which one’s faithfulness is proved (Cf. 1 Peter 1:7).  A temptation succumbed to becomes to us a source of spiritual defeat and discouragement (Cf. James 1:14-15).

No temptation comes to any of us beyond that which is common to man.  There is no trouble or trial experienced in which a person can say, “this is something altogether new, and no one has ever had to deal with something like this before.”  Indeed, no temptation exists that Jesus Himself has not already triumphed over (Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin”).  We might feel sometimes as if “no one knows the troubles I’ve seen,” but Jesus does know—He faced them all.

It is helpful to remember that God is not oblivious to our circumstances.  He is omnisciently aware of all of our comings and goings (Cf. Psalm 139:1-6).  He is faithful--we can always count on Him—to not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability.  He mercifully sets a limit to our troubles.  Job’s troubles were limited according to God’s decree (Cf. Job 1:12; 2:6).

The Plimsoll Line--named after Samuel Plimsoll who argued in the 1860s of the need for such a marker-- is the name of a special marking, also known as the International Load Line, that indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship may be loaded in order to safely maintain buoyancy.  The Plimsoll line of any specific ship is established by the ship’s designer.  Ships are not to be loaded beyond that point.  Our designer, God, sets a limit (a Plimsoll Line) to our burdens.  Sometimes it might seem that we’ve been given too much to bear, but it is in such instances where we experience previously unexplored dimensions of God’s strengthening and sustaining grace (Cf. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).  God is well-pleased and able to supply to us “mercy and…grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16; Cf. James 1:5; 1 Peter 5:7).

Not only does God providentially work to limit our burdens, He also provides for “the way of escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13).  God will not set us “between a rock and a hard place” such that we have no choice but to sin (Cf. James 1:13).  That might have appeared to some to be the case when Meriam Ibrahim was recently brought before a judge in Sudan.  The eight-month pregnant Sudanese mother was threatened with capital punishment unless she renounced Christ.  She faced a seemingly inescapable predicament.  But she trusted and obeyed God.  God ultimately worked to deliver her from punishment and jail.

Andrew Murray offered this wise counsel on how to deal with difficult situations: 1) Realize that God brought me here.  It is by His will I am in this place; in that fact I will rest; 2) Realize that He will keep me here in His love, and give me grace to behave as His child; 3) Realize that He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons that He intends me to learn, and working in me that grace He means to bestow; and 4) In His good time He can bring me out again -- how and when -- He knows.  So, I am here...By God's appointment, in His keeping, under His training, for His time.”

God is not oblivious to the temptations that you face.  He knows.  He cares.  He can use them in your life to accomplish HIs divine purpose for you.  He can even work to bring a blessing out of them.  Our part is to trust and obey.

RUN TO WIN (1 Corinthians Chapter 9)

1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize?  So run that you may obtain it.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.  They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

The Apostle Paul frequently used athletic analogies when speaking of spiritual matters (Cf. Philippians 3:14; 1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 2:5, 4:7).  The metaphor was particularly relevant to the Corinthians inasmuch as the city of Corinth served to host the biennial Isthmian games, which were at the time second in fame only to the Olympics.

The Isthmian games were widely celebrated.  Every two years they were held in a great stadium located near the city.  Only “freeborn” men could enter the games.  They were required to engage in ten months of preparation.  They had to be able to certify to their faithfulness in training.  They were to keep themselves morally clean in the period preceding the contest.  The contestants were led about the arena by a master of ceremonies while he shouted out in a loud voice to all the spectators inquiring of them if they had some matter in which they could accuse a contestant of any crime or wickedness.  For thirty days before the contests a rigid period of preparation was observed.  Each contestant was announced and introduced by name and country.  The victor in the games was crowned.  In the earlier days it was with a garland of parsley.  Quite a prize!  That was later changed to a pine wreath.  That is what they sought after and exercised self-control and discipline to obtain.  To be sure they became quite famous in their hometowns—and were sometimes even written about--but their winnings were all of the perishable variety.

And even today there are countless examples of athletes who sacrifice much by way of discipline and self-control that they might excel in their particular athletic endeavor.  Successful athletes are the ones who take their sport seriously.  The requirements of their training impact their sleep, diet, exercise.  Their freedom to do as they please is limited.

That which is true in the physical holds true in the spiritual.  The Christian life is compared to a race.  A prize (reward) awaits the winner (Cf. 2 Timothy 4:8).  The contestants (believers) don’t compete against each other, but against the obstacles that would work to hinder each one (Cf. Hebrews 12:1).  Holding on tightly to one’s rights and freedoms is a sure way to lose.  It is self-control—the fruit of the Spirit (Cf. Galatians 5:22-23)—that is necessary.  “Self-control” translates a Greek word meaning “strength.”  Vine’s Expository Dictionary comments on the meaning of the term, “The various powers bestowed by God upon man are capable of abuse; the right use demands the controlling power of the will under the operation of the Spirit of God.”  By the means of Spirit-imparted self-control the will of a man is brought into submission to the will of God.  In this matter, restraint and discipline—in both the negative and positive sense—is exercised. 

Paul was a great example in all of this.  Like an athlete he single-mindedly pursued the goal (1 Corinthians 9:26, “So I do not run aimlessly”; Cf. Philippians 3:13-14).  In exercising self-control and discipline, Paul endured hardship (Cf. 2 Corinthians 6:1-10), gave up his right to receive material support (1 Corinthians 9:1-18), and went out of his way to relate to various groups of people (Cf. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23)—that he “might win more of them” (Cf. 1 Corinthians 9:19).  In his single-minded pursuit of a worthwhile goal he serves as a good example for us to follow (Cf. Philippians 3:17).  How you doing in the race?  Are you pressing on to the goal?  Is there evidence in your life of the Spirit-imparted self-control enabling you to make wise choices?  Are you faltering?  “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of faith,” we find strength and encouragement that we might “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Cf. Hebrews 12:1-3; Philippians 4:13).

LOVE BUILDS UP (1 Corinthians Chapter 8)

1 Corinthians 8:1, “Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’  This ‘knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”

1 Corinthians chapters 8 through 10 have to do with the subject of eating food offered to idols.  This was a matter of direct relevance to the believers in Corinth because of the sacrifices made in pagan temples.  Oftentimes meat from the temples was offered for sale in the marketplace.  Some felt that it was okay to eat such meat, knowing that “’an idol has no real existence, and that ‘there is no God but one’” (1 Corinthians 8:4).

Not all possessed that knowledge (Cf. 1 Corinthians 8:7).  The pagan worshippers of that day believed that they could placate the gods and gain their favor through such sacrifices.  Some of the Christians in Corinth likely struggled in their efforts to completely sever themselves from their old ways.  If they were to eat food offered to idols their conscience would be defiled (Cf. 1 Corinthians 8:7).

The realization that an idol isn’t real is a good thing, but is of no value if unaccompanied by love.  This kind of “knowledge puffs up” (1 Corinthians 8:1).  The believers in Corinth had an issue with prideful arrogance (Cf. 1 Corinthians 3:21; 4:6, 8, 18-19).  The phrase “puffs up” translates a Greek term meaning to blow up or inflate.  The Corinthians had an inflated view of themselves, especially when measured against their inability to express love. 

1 Corinthians 13:2 speaks to the vanity of this kind of knowledge: “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”  It matters not how much one’s ego is inflated by one’s supposed “knowledge,” apart from love it is of no value.

“Love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1).  Knowledge puffs up self, love builds up others.  Love, God’s kind of love, is self-less and sacrificial in nature.  It concerns itself with the spiritual well-being of others.  According to Christ’s own “mind” (i.e. way of thinking), love does “nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count(s) others” to be more significant (Cf. Philippians 2:3-4).  Though all things are lawful, “not all things build up” (1 Corinthians 10:23).  In love, Paul admonished the Corinthians to set aside their own freedom to eat for “the good of his neighbor” (1 Corinthians 10:24).

The knowledgeable but loveless response to one’s fellow believer was of grave consequence.  “For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols?  And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died” (1 Corinthians 8:10-11).  The callous disregard for the weak brother would work to destroy his conscience.

The Corinthian problem was that they were not generally relating to one another according to a “the brother for whom Christ died” way of thinking.  They were dividing over particular leaders, suing one another in the court, celebrating gross immorality, leaving some hungry in the Lord’s Supper, inappropriately using their spiritual gifts apart from love, etc. etc.  Their brothers and sisters in Christ were fellow believers for whom Christ had shed His precious blood.  The brother or sister callously disregarded was a brother or sister for whom Christ died.

The instruction, “the brother for whom Christ died” is doubly instructive (Cf. 1 Corinthians 8:11).  Every believer is hereby instructed to love his brothers and sisters inasmuch as they are loved by Christ Himself (Cf. John 13:34-35).  Christ loved by sacrificing Himself, the members of His body are called upon to do the same (Cf. Romans 15:2-3, “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.  For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me’”).  Callous disregard of a brother in Christ—whether under the pretense of superior knowledge or in asserting one’s rights or freedom--is never appropriate for those who claim to belong to Him.

BLOOM WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED (1 Corinthians Chapter 7)

1 Corinthians 7:17, “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned him, and to which God has called him.”

There is a dairy next door to our church.  On occasion malcontent cows escape and make their way to the church premises assuming the grass to be greener on the other side of the fence.  We call the dairy and they put the cows back where they belong.  To my eyes the grass looks the same on either side of the fence, but the cows are thinking otherwise.

Sometimes we humans act like those cows.  God would have us to be content in serving Him in the situation He has placed us, but instead we are occasionally prone to long for something else.  Paul was not telling the Corinthians that they should remain in an illegal or immoral situation (i.e. a thief was not to remain a thief), but outside of that they were to accept that which God had assigned and faithfully serve Him in that situation.

Several areas of discontent prevailed amongst the Corinthians.  Some wanted to change their marital status—from single to married, from married to single, from having an unbelieving partner to having a believing one (Cf. 1 Corinthians 7:8-16).  Some were slaves and wanted to be free (it should be noted that slaves in NT times were usually well treated).  Some were Jews but wanted to appear as Gentiles.  Some were Gentiles and wanted to become like Jews (Cf. 1 Corinthians 7:17-24).

It was to that attitude of discontent that the Apostle spoke.  The believers in Corinth were to be less concerned about their particular circumstances and more concerned about faithfully serving God in whatever circumstance they found themselves.  We sometimes fall into a “If only (fill in the blank)” way of thinking.  If only I had a different job (marriage partner, church, location, etc.), then I would be happy.  But as Chuck Swindoll once pointed out, life is less about our circumstances and more about how we respond to them: “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  It will make or break a company... a church... a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.  We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.  I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.  And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

It has been said that we should endeavor to “bloom where we are planted.”  God has planted you in a particular place, so bloom (bear fruit) in that place.  OT Joseph is a great example of this principle.  He was sold off into slavery and became the personal servant to Potiphar, “and the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands” (Genesis 39:3).  He was falsely accused and put in prison and the Lord “gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison” (Genesis 39:21).  God orchestrated his release and his eventual promotion to the position of Prime Minister of Egypt (Cf. Genesis 41:37f).  No matter his circumstance--be it a slave, prisoner, or prime minister—Joseph faithfully served and glorified God in that situation.

God sometimes moves people from one job or location or church to another.  And it is good for us to carefully and prayerfully seek God’s leading in such occasions.  In the meantime, in whatever setting we find ourselves, we need to bloom where He has planted us.  There is no place on planet earth that is without need for the beauty and fragrance of Christ’s loving presence made manifest through His people.  Be content.  Be obedient.  Bear fruit in good works.  God can use you in your present calling, whatever it is, to make Him known.

THE WAY WE WERE (1 Corinthians Chapter 6)

1 Corinthians 6:11, “And such were some of you…”

The context of this blessed proclamation was Paul’s corrective instruction to the Corinthian believers regarding their destructive practice of settling disputes between brethren in the courts of the unrighteous.  Motivated by selfish concerns, and seeking revenge or compensation, their practice worked both to cause division and bring dishonor to the cause of Christ.  Disputes between believers should be settled by believers (Cf. 1 Corinthians 6:1, 5).  It would be better “suffer wrong” or “be defrauded” than to attempt to settle such grievances before the lost (Cf. 1 Corinthians 6:7-8).

At the heart of the Corinthian problem was confusion regarding their true identity.  In salvation they had been born again.  Every believer is a “new creation” in Christ (Cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17), but the Corinthians weren’t acting like that.  Their lives, standards, and motives were no different than those of the lost.  They were called to a holy, separate manner of life, but were, by their actions, acknowledging no such distinction.  They were inclined to seek justice in the courts of the lost because they didn’t clearly understand that they had been called out of their old manner of life.

They were settling their disputes “before the unrighteous” (1 Corinthians 6:1), but the unrighteous have no relationship to “the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10).  The lives of the unrighteous are characterized by the practice of a laundry list of various vices—“neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).  The language used to describe each vice speaks not to the occasional sin, but the habitual practice which would then work to characterize a person.  The list of sinful identities is not exhaustive, but sufficient to encompass all.  Every son and daughter of Adam can find something here to relate to (Cf. Romans 5:12).  Paul emphatically affirmed the truth that the unrighteous are not destined to heaven (Cf. Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5).  But “Christ Jesus came into the world to save” such folks (Cf. 1 Timothy 1:15).  None in that offensive list stand beyond the reach of God’s capacity in Christ to save (Cf. 1 Timothy 1:16).

“And such were some of you” (1 Corinthians 6:11).  How blessed is that word “were!”  An alteration has taken place in the life of the believer in Christ.  There is a “before” and “after.”  There is a way you “were!”  And there is a way you “are!”  Paul had previously identified his readers to be “saints” (1 Corinthians 1:2).  They possessed that identity not through religious self-improvement, but through a decisive one-for-all act.  God Himself had intervened on their behalf and caused that to happen (“And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption”--1 Corinthians 1:30).  Ephesians 2:4 speaks to the same manner and expresses--succinctly in two words--the means by which the believer has been delivered—“But God.”  The believer is one who has had a “but God” experience.  That intervention itself was founded in the rich mercy and great love of God (Cf. Ephesians 2:4).

As a result of God’s intervention those believers had experienced (past tense) three wonderful realities—“you were washed, your were sanctified, you were justified” (1 Corinthians 1:11).  The word “washed” speaks to the cleansing of soul experienced in regeneration (Cf. Titus 3:5).  The precious blood of the lamb unblemished and spotless had worked to purify their souls.  “Sanctified” speaks to that work of God through which the believer has been set apart from the love and power of sin.  “Justified,” is the positive counterpart to the word “unrighteous.”  It speaks to judicious act whereby God has declared the believer righteous on the basis of Christ and His sacrifice (Cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 5:1).

In the name of the Lord Jesus and Christ, by the power of the Spirit of God, the believer in Christ has experienced a radical transformation and now possesses a new identity in Christ.  He is not now who he once was.  His new identity calls for an altogether new manner of life (Cf. Romans 6:3-4).

A LITTLE LEAVEN (1 Corinthians Chapter 5)

1 Corinthians 5:6, “Your boasting is not good.  Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?”

The shocking report of what was happening in the Corinthian church ultimately found its way to the Apostle Paul.  A man had his father’s wife, his step-mother (Cf. 1 Corinthians 5:1).  He had taken her in and was having sexual relations with her.  This kind of incestuous behavior was something clearly forbidden in the Old Testament (Cf. Leviticus 18:7-8, 29) and even under Roman law.  That a man in the church, a professing believer, was doing such a thing was bad enough.  That the church was refusing to address the matter was even more grievous.

The church ought to have mourned.  They should have been sorrowed in their hearts over what had taken place.  The deed worked to tarnish the reputation of the church and hinder the cause of Christ.  It was inconsistent to the person and work of Christ, who had sacrificed Himself that He might deliver them from such evil deeds (Cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7).  Left unaddressed the matter would eventually work to spread a destructive influence throughout the body.

Instead of mourning the believers in Corinth were arrogant and boastful (Cf. 1 Corinthians 5:2, 6).  They were characteristically arrogant (Cf. 1 Corinthians 3:21; 4:6, 8, 18-19), but their boastful response in this particular case may have been ill-founded on the mistaken notion that grace had worked to free them from any moral constraints (Cf. 1 Corinthians 6:12; 8:1; 10:23).  In either case, their arrogance worked to blind their eyes to the evils of the blatant sin that was occurring in their midst.

The Corinthian believers boastfully tolerated the matter.  They were doctrinally naïve as to the correct response.  Paul’s “do you not know” question is the first occurrence in this epistle of this repeated phrase (Cf. 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3, 9, 15, 16; 7:16; 9:13, 24).  We might say, “You spiritual dunderheads!  Don’t you realize?”  The Corinthian error is an all too common one.  It is supposed in our day that doctrine is not important.  Doctrine is a dirty word to far too many Christians.  But doctrine and duty are inseparably linked.  One cannot live in Christ as he is supposed to if he doesn’t know what he is supposed to.

What was it that they didn’t know?  They didn’t realize the far-reaching implications of their failure to address the matter—“a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6).  The people of that day would use fermented dough in the baking of bread.  When bread was about to be baked, a small lump was pulled off and set aside for later use.  That leaven would then be set aside in water, and would later be kneaded into a fresh batch of dough.  Leaven in Scripture represents influence, usually—but not always (Cf. Matthew 13:33)--evil in nature.  Left unchecked the evil deed would exercise a permeating influence on the body.  Others would naively suppose such sins to be “no big deal.”  Ultimately the refusal of the church to intervene would work to generate a culture of general disregard for sin. 

Paul’s exhorted the church to “purge the evil person from among you” (1 Corinthians 5:12).  For the sake of the body they were to discipline the erring member.  Other passages speak to the nature of such loving discipline (Cf. Galatians 6:1).  It is carefully and prayerfully undertaken with the goal that the person might repent and be restored to fellowship (Cf. Galatians 6:1; 2 Corinthians 5:7).  In his book “If you Bite and Devour,” Alexander Strauch commented on this matter, “When a member is unrepentant and persists in sin, fellowship with that person is broken and he or she must be excluded from the church.  Such severe discipline is intended to protect the church from moral and spiritual corruption.  It also awakens the sinner to the seriousness of his (or her) sin.”  This chapter reminds us of the dangerous consequences associated with the tolerance of sin, either on a personal or corporate level.  “Blessed are those who mourn” over it (Matthew 5:4).

FOUND FAITHFUL (1 Corinthians Chapter 4)

1 Corinthians 4:1, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.  Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”

How are we to evaluate one’s success in ministry?  What criteria should we use?  From man’s perspective we might consider a person’s number of followers or the size of their church budget (i.e. “nickels and noses”).  Some might cite a man’s influence by way of degrees garnered, souls saved, or books written.  But what does God look for?  What constitutes “success” in ministry from His perspective?

The church in Corinth was characterized by a spirit of partisanship.  The church was prone, in a spirit of “jealousy and strife” (1 Corinthians 3:3), to the elevating of men and dividing amongst themselves according to which particular leader they followed.  Given their fleshly ways, they were no doubt spiritually ill-equipped to properly esteem the leader’s role before God.  Paul repeatedly addressed their error (Cf. 1 Corinthians 1:11-13, 3:1-7).  Indeed, much of this chapter is devoted to the correction of that specific problem.

A part of the answer to this problem (i.e. a spirit of partisanship) is rightly esteeming the relationship of the leader to Christ and his limitations with respect to the role he has been given.  Paul used two terms in addressing this. He identified himself to be a “servant” with respect to Christ.  The term “servant” translates the Greek huperetes which was used in that day of an “under rower.”  An under rower was a galley slave who served in the lowest level on board ship.  He was subjected to the hardest labor, cruelest punishment, and least appreciation of all the slaves on board.  The term later evolved in use to refer to “any subordinate acting under another’s direction” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary).  That’s the term Paul used of himself in expressing his relationship to Christ.  It also spoke of the manner in which he wanted his readers to regard both himself and Apollos.  He could have thought and responded otherwise.  He could have pridefully asserted his ministry credentials—in which he was unrivaled--and elevated himself above his peers.  But he understood who he was—he was but a servant doing the bidding of his Master.  We are all, regardless of our unique positions or ministries, servants of the same Master (Cf. 1 Corinthians 7:22b).

He was a “steward” of the mysteries of God.  The term “steward” translates a Greek term that literally means “house manager.”  A steward’s role was to manage the household or property of his master.  A steward bears the responsibility of overseeing that which has been put in his care.  He is not the owner and has no authority or right to step outside the bounds of his assigned responsibilities, his job is to do that which he has been given to do.  In this case Paul referred to himself and Apollos as “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1).  They were responsible for proclaiming the truth that had been revealed to them (Cf. 2 Corinthians 4:1-3).  That is a responsibility borne by every minister of the gospel (Cf. 2 Timothy 4:1-2).

A steward is successful to the extent that he is found faithful in discharging his responsibility.  This is the standard which God uses in measuring a person’s “success.”  The same term is used in the parable of the talents in expressing the Master’s response to the servant for his wise use of this gifts and responsibility (Cf. Matthew 25:20-23). 

James R. Sizoo once wrote, “Let it never be forgotten that glamour is not greatness; applause is not fame; prominence is not eminence.  The man of the hour is not apt to be the man of the ages.  A stone may sparkle, but that does not make it a diamond; people may have money, but that does not make them a success.  It is what the unimportant people do that really counts and determines the course of history.  The greatest forces in the universe are never spectacular.  Summer showers are more effective than hurricanes, but they get no publicity.  The world would soon die but for the fidelity, loyalty, and consecration of those whose names are unhonored and unsung.” 

As a servant of Christ your name might remain “unhonored and unsung” before men, but it is God’s perspective that matters (Cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:1-6).  He deems faithfulness to be praiseworthy.