First Baptist Church sat in a quiet rural town, just off the main street. The hall, newly
updated with comfy seats and a visual display, seated about fifty people, and the pastor’s
office was connected to that. The door to the office was always open, not because it couldn’t
be shut, but because Matthew had an open door policy.
Pastor Matthew, was a young 26-year-old, fresh out of Bible College. He had strong
leadership skills and preached convicting sermons. After almost a year in the job at First
Baptist Church, membership had grown and Matthew was creating quite a stir in the
community.
Matthew was energetic and always eager to get involved, a lone ranger well suited to a
rural pastorate. His leadership skills, charm and good looks often won people’s approval with
very little effort.
He moved away from the big city for some experience, he only planned to be rural for a
year or two before moving into a big city pastoral role with a larger crowd. His family were
back in the city and with no personal commitments he was able to maintain his focus on
work.
His work/life balance was nice and simple, at work he focused on answering emails,
church meetings, church programs and community engagement. In his small apartment he
could relax with video games and other things.
A few days ago, Matthew learned of the death of Gerald, a long-time church member
and a local business owner. At 49, Gerald’s heart attack and death was sudden, but it gave
Matthew a chance to speak to a larger crowd about the beauty of heaven and showcase his
skills, even though he had never preached at a funeral before.
Gerald had a nice car, a trophy wife, and was very friendly to Matthew. Gerald was
recently part of the pastoral search team who appointed Matthew, so he was indebted to
Gerald. Matthew looked up to Gerald and hoped he could one day be successful like him.
Gerald’s wife, Zoe, was a ditzy blond, a former model and currently a receptionist. They
had married later in life and didn’t have children, which was obvious considering how clean
their house was and how fit both of them looked. They had both been faithful members of
the church for decades, probably even before Matthew was born.
Zoe was scheduled to come in today and finalise details for Gerald’s funeral in three
day’s time. Matthew’s schedule was tight, but it shouldn’t take long and he was always glad
to see Zoe.
Matthew saw Zoe enter the church premises, her dress was an ordinary dark blue dress,
long and loose. But he knew that the figure underneath was very pleasing because every
other time he had seen her she wore a tight, revealing dress that he was fine with, even if
most of the congregation thought it was inappropriate.
Zoe knocked on the door of the office, “May I come in?”
“Please do,” replied Matthew, looking up from his computer screen. Zoe came into the
office and gracefully sat down opposite him.
“You look well,” said Matthew, “Gerald told me a bit about you, apparently you were a
model, when was that? Not too long ago I guess.”
“Umm,” Zoe paused, “back in my first job.”
“As a receptionist?”
“No, as a scientist.”
“Scientist?”
“I was asked to model our new science equipment. I thought we were going to talk about
Gerald?”
“Oh yes, so tell me a little bit about Gerald the plumber.”
“He owned Premium Plumbing and started that business about eight years ago. We set
it up together, I did a business degree and really helped Gerald with finance, admin and
marketing. He was a people person and once he built a relationship with people he had
clients for life.”
“Yeah, I knew that well. He loved to talk about himself, and you, and his car. Did he like
anything else?” asked Matthew.
“He said he had promethean ideas. He liked anything Greek, Greek philosophy, Greek
gods, Greek architecture. A lot of the bathrooms he designed had a Greek influence. I
learned so much about the New Testament world by listening to him.”
“I’m sure you did.”
“He always had something to say,” continued Zoe, “and when things were broken, he
would fix it, he was handy with anything from concrete pillars to wooden furniture. He fixed
things at the church for years before starting Premium Plumbing.”
“I’ve heard he’s the reason the church is still in one piece and looks so nice.”
“I know he didn’t charge the church much, but business allowed him to live very
comfortably. He bought me dresses and jewellery and spent a lot of money on his car.”
As Zoe spoke, Matthew was typing on his keyboard, “How did you two meet?”
“At church, when I first moved to town. And we got married nine years ago. Gerald was
handsome, charming and good looking. His personality made me feel safe and secure. He
was a gentle giant.”
“As tall as me, although he had a lot more muscle.”
“I liked going to the gym together,” Zoe continued, “he would do weights while I would do
cardio and meditate on Scripture.”
Matthew, aware that he had to make a lunch appointment, quickly raced through the
funeral details with Zoe – flowers? songs? eulogies? tissues?
“Cool, I think we’re all sorted. I’ll give a quick message about the comfort of heaven,
everyone will say their farewells and it’ll all run nice and smoothly. Now, I just have one last
question. About a month ago, Gerald came up to me after a message and asked if I could
talk to him about something and asked me to give him a call. I was too busy to get back to
him, but do you have any idea what he might have wanted to talk to me about?”
Zoe paused for a moment. “About a month ago? Umm… were you preaching through
Philippians then?”
Matthew quickly got up his schedule on his computer and read it out to Zoe, “Sunday,
the second of July, Philippians 3. I preached a message called ‘Greedy Gluttons Go to Hell’.
Quite a good title, don’t you think?”
At this Zoe gasped an audible gasp, and quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
Matthew paused, Zoe’s reaction was unexpected. She sat in silence for a minute and
Matthew didn’t dare break it. Eventually he quietly closed his computer, got up from his desk,
went over and closed the door. After closing the door, he returned to his seat. By this point it
was obvious that Zoe had shed a few tears, and Matthew just stayed silent, allowing Zoe to
speak.
“On Saturday I returned home from shopping and found two pastries from the bread
shop on the table. I then walked into our room and found Gerald in bed with some girl. I then
proceeded to yell at him ‘You greedy glutton!’. I stormed out of the house and checked into a
hotel for the night. I spent that night and the following morning in prayer for Gerald’s
salvation.”
Again there was silence as the impact of Zoe’s words sank in to Matthew. He had never
experienced anything like this before in his short time as a pastor. So he cautiously chose
his next words, “You say ‘Gerald’s salvation’. Were there any other indicators that he did not
believe in Christ?”
“Plenty. Apart from at church, he did not pray or read the Bible. As far as I know he was
never baptised. He overate and indulged in rich, fatty food. He was proud. He was always
watching television, and I’m sure he watched other things too.
“I had been praying for his salvation for about six years, but nothing seemed to affect
him. Every time I talked to him about Christ he set-up a wall and didn’t listen. Proud people
oppose God, and it seemed like Gerald opposed God all his life.
“Alone in that hotel room, I prayed passionately all night. I cried out for God to break
through to Gerald and change him, for God to convict him of his sin, for God to hit him ‘right
between the eyes’, and for Gerald to hear the message and truth of the Gospel, and for him
to repent.”
Again Matthew was cautious to speak, “When Gerald approached me after the service,
he seemed different, like his heart was open. Had he shown any change before he died?”
“So I came home on Sunday night,” Zoe replied. “But we never spoke about what
happened. He started coming with me to the gym again, and stopped eating as much, but
still he never opened his Bible or prayed.”
Matthew stayed silent, unable to speak. After a couple minutes of silence, Zoe got up to
leave, “I will let you get back to your day, goodbye.” Zoe opened the door and left, leaving it
open.
Matthew, still motionless at his desk, reflected on what he had heard. Gerald was now
suffering in hell for eternity. It didn’t seem that Gerarld had the opportunity to repent before
his heart attack. Saying to everyone at the funeral that Gerald was in hell would make for a
very interesting service.
But something else was bothering Matthew… a little something called… guilt.
Conviction hit Matthew ‘right between the eyes’. On the Sunday when Gerald asked
Matthew to call him, he went home and decided to relax before calling Gerald. While gaming
he had thought about calling Gerald many times, but he kept playing instead. He spent ten
hours playing video games that night, and he ended his gaming session by further relaxing
with other things before bed.
Because he never called Gerald, he never had the opportunity to repent. Gerald was in
hell because he procrastinated. The contrast between Matthew and Zoe clearly revealed his
heart. He had wasted the night in vile pleasure ignoring Gerald, while Zoe had spent the
previous night in agony crying out to God for Gerald.
Zoe cared for Gerald’s eternal soul, but he did not. He thought he knew the bible, but
Zoe lived it. She was smart, disciplined, wise, humble and righteous. Everything he should
be as a pastor.
But Matthew didn’t even come close. Instead, he was impressed by Gerald’s car, wife
and personality. He wanted fame and success in this world rather than a deep relationship
with God forever.
Matthew admired Gerald and wanted to be like him. And slowly it sunk in that he was
exactly like Gerald. Apart from church and sermon preparation, he never prayed or opened
his Bible. He was addicted to video games and pornography. And he was proud, he was a
proud pastor, opposing the work of God.
Gerald was now suffering eternal punishment and if Matthew continued to live the way
he was, he would join Gerald in that eternal punishment. Matthew’s life was immoral,
rebellious, disobedient and hypocritical. It was Zoe’s pure heart that he should’ve admired,
not Gerald’s fluff.
Matthew finally rose from his desk, he slowly made his way over to the door, gently
closed it, and in the silence he fell to his knees and cried out to God…
Three days later, Zoe, the rest of the congregation, and many other locals packed the
church, many had to stand. Gerald’s casket and flowers sat in front of them, and Matthew
stood up to give the message. As he looked at the crowd, his eyes filled with tears, he
paused, composed himself and finally opened his mouth…