One Another Series - Offer Hospitality to One Another

 

This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders.

This year, in these podcasts, I am focusing upon the “One Another” scriptures found in the New Testament as viewed through the lens of leadership.

Our verse for today’s podcast is 1 Peter 4:9 where we read, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” At the outset, I will say that my observation is that Africans are much, much better at this than people in my country.

Hospitality seems to be ingrained in African culture. I’ve observed it, and I’ve been the recipient of African hospitality on many occasions. I love Africans and their hospitality! On the other hand, people in my country sometimes need to be reminded to offer hospitality “without grumbling.”

Why do you suppose the Apostle Peter added this admonition “without grumbling”? I asked myself this question, and I believe that it’s because demonstrating hospitality can be an inconvenience to the host. There are many preparations to consider. Will there be enough food and drink? Will there be places for everyone to sit? Or beds to sleep in? Practicing hospitality may mean that I’m not able to complete all the day’s tasks. Hospitality will usually cost me something. Peter’s counsel is to set all those objections, considerations, or excuses aside. As I researched this verse, I found a helpful description of what Peter’s instruction looked like to those in the first century.

“Be hospitable” means to be friendly to strangers or guests. A “stranger” is someone who we do not regard as a member of our extended family or a close friend. Strangeness produces mutual tension between natives and foreigners, but hospitality overcomes the pressure and makes friends of aliens. 

Times of persecution and distress obligated Christians to be hospitable to one another. Some Christians lost everything they owned and were driven to distant countries for safety. This hospitality sustained people uprooted by persecution. Source: https://versebyversecommentary.com/1997/11/24/1-peter-49/ Leaders are to set the example in this practice.

1 Timothy 3:2 – “Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.” The Greek word translated “overseer” is also translated elsewhere as bishop or shepherd. Leaders set the example.

The subject in Titus chapter 1 is appointing elders. Verse 8 tells us that ”he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.” Again, we see that leaders set the example in offering hospitality. Whether it is easy or convenient or not, we are to “offer hospitality to one another.”

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters and leaders.