First Letter from Small Man to the Sacred Family in Village of Pleasure 9
9
SMALL MAN DEFENDS HIS CALLING
1Am I not free? Am I not a message bearer? Did I not come face to face with Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One? Are you not the fruit of the work given to me by our Honored Chief? 2Others may not see me as a message bearer, but I must be in your eyes. You are the proof that our Honored Chief has chosen me.
3Here is how I will answer the ones who have decided to put me on trial: 4Do we message bearers not have the right to expect food and drink from you? 5Do we not have the right to travel with a wife, as do the other message bearers, such as the brothers of our Honored Chief and Stands on the Rock (Cephas)? 6Or is it only Son of Comfort (Barnabas) and I who have no right to these things and are forced to work to provide for ourselves?
7What nation would not care for the warriors who fight to keep them safe? Who plants a vineyard and is not permitted to eat fruit from it? Who watches over a flock of sheep and does not drink from its milk?
8I am not just looking through human eyes, for our Sacred Teachings tell us the same things. 9The law given to us by Drawn from the Water (Moses) says, “When an ox is used to harvest corn, do not cover its mouth and keep it from eating.”#9:9 Deuteronomy 25:4
Do you think the Great Spirit was only speaking of oxen, 10or was he also speaking about human beings? Yes, he meant it for human beings also, because the one who plows the ground does so in the hope of a good harvest, and the one who gathers the corn expects to share in the harvest.
11If we have planted spiritual seeds into your lives, is it too much to ask for you to meet our physical needs? 12If you have given others this right, should we not expect the same? But we have not asked for this right. Instead we have taken this burden on our own shoulders. In this way, nothing will stand in the way of us telling the good story of the Chosen One.
13Do you not know that the ones who perform the sacred ceremonies eat food from the sacred lodge? And that the holy men who tend to the altar receive their share of the ceremonial meat offered there? 14In the same way, our Honored Chief instructed his followers that the ones who are tellers of the good story should receive their living from the good story.#9:14 Matthew 10:10; Luke 10:7
SMALL MAN LAYS DOWN HIS RIGHTS
15But as for me, I have not asked for this right, and I am not saying this so you will give it to me. I would rather die than have anyone take away my dignity in this matter. 16I should not be given special honor for telling the good story, for it is a burden that has been laid on my shoulders. Trouble waits for me if I have failed in this sacred task! 17If I chose this for myself, then I would expect to be honored for it. But if this was chosen for me, then I am only a keeper of this sacred task, requiring no special honor.
18So what honor do I take to myself? It is my honor to tell the good story without expecting anything in return. In this way, I lay down any rights that I could ask for as I tell the good story. 19For even though I am free and a slave to no man, I have made myself a slave to all, in order to win many more.
FINDING COMMON GROUND
20When I am among my own Tribal Members, like them I honor our traditions that I might win them over to the good story. To the ones who are under the law, I come under the law when among them, even though I am no longer under our tribal law. I do this to gain their respect and win them over to the good story.
21When I am among the ones who are outside of our tribal law, I consider myself as also outside of our tribal law. Even so, I am not truly outside Creator’s law, but under the law of the Chosen One. I do this to gain their respect and win them over to the good story.
22When I am among those who are poor and weak, I join with them in their struggle. I look for common ground with everyone, so that I can tell them the good story that will make them whole and set them free. 23I do all of this so I can tell everyone the good story, so that together we may share in its blessings.
RUN THE RACE TO WIN
24Do you not know that in a race there are many who run, but only one is honored for winning the race? So run with the honor of winning in mind. 25All who make it their aim to run in races work hard and practice self-control in all things. They do this for a headdress of flowers that only grows old and fades away, but we who follow Creator Sets Free (Jesus) do this for a spiritual headdress that will never grow old or fade away.
26So when I run, I do not run in circles but toward a goal. When I fight, I do not swing my arms like a wild man. I aim my punches. 27I am rough on my body and bring it under my power, so that after I have instructed others, I myself will not grow weary and drop out of the race.
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