Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap. 1 Timothy 3:1-7
“As I had proposed to myself to be short, I shall now conclude, and pass over in silence other things less important. But I cannot conclude this little work without saying that every bishop should be convinced that in receiving the mitre he loads his conscience with a great burden, so that if he wishes to save his soul he must necessarily resolve on entering upon the government of his See, to embrace a life, not of ease and of rest, but a life of crosses, of trials, and of labors; a life which St. John Chrysostom calls “a sea of labors, an abyss of troubles.”
Hence arises for bishops the extreme danger of losing their souls, and this has filled many holy men with so great a fear, that they found themselves as it were forced even to fail in obedience to their Superiors by refusing to take upon themselves such a burden. And one cannot regard as vain such a fear if the saying of St Augustine is true, namely, that it is very difficult for a bishop to be saved, because it is very difficult for him to comply with his grave responsibilities.
Most terrible is, besides, what St. John Chrysostom says, and I do not think that he is wrong, namely: “I believe that among the bishops not many will be saved, but many more will be lost.” And here the holy Doctor speaks of those that are truly called to the episcopate and are forced to accept it; he speaks quite differently of those that ambitiously seek after it, for he says: “I wonder whether any one of them will be saved.”
Whether in this matter there is any exaggeration, I know not; but I know that when Pius V. was elected Pope he was seen to tremble and to grow pale; and when asked the reason, he answered as follows: “When I was a religious I had great hopes of saving my soul; having become a bishop, I began to fear; now having been chosen Pope, I feel nearly desperate.”
All these considerations should, however, not discourage good bishops, nor fill them with diffidence, but should excite in them great watchfulness in regard to their duties; should fill them with zeal, and at the same time with holy hopes; for they know that if the chastise ment of negligent bishops is to be great, much greater will be the reward that an infinitely good and generous God will give to those that are zealous.”
Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787) in The Complete Works of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, translated from the Italian, edited by Rev. Eugene Grimm (New York: Benzinger, 1890) 471-473.
I’m en route home. On my last day in Pakistan I spent time with Khurram Younis, GTP Country Coordinator for Pakistan, discussing goverannce matters. Today’s post makes a strong connection between governance and generosity.
Most Christians do not talk much about Paul’s warning that overseers can fall under the same judgment as the devil. Those are really, really strong words. If we fail at this service, the consequences are indescribably great.
Why does God care so much about governance and the service of overseers? The answer is simple. As governance goes, so goes the church or ministry. Bad governance means everything goes bad. That’s why it matters so much.
So I guess this post relates to everyone in current or future governance roles. And it marks my final post from this classic writing. The work will be hard: “a sea of labors and an abyss of troubles.” But for those zealous to do good, I have good news.
“The reward that an infinitely good and generous God will give to those that are zealous” will be unimaginable. Avoiding failure here is worth the effort. In that light, good oversight may be one of the most generous things you can contribute.