Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
This verse is from a letter the apostle Paul wrote to a young church leader named Timothy, who was overseeing a congregation in Ephesus — a major city in what is now western Turkey. 'Elders' in the early church were respected leaders entrusted with both the spiritual and practical direction of the community, not simply older people. The phrase 'double honor' likely includes both deep respect and financial support, since the Greek word for honor (timē) carried both meanings in that culture. Paul is making a practical, countercultural argument: those who shepherd a community faithfully deserve to be genuinely cared for, not just appreciated in passing.
God, thank You for the people You've placed in communities to lead, teach, and shepherd — often for less recognition than the work deserves. I confess I take them for granted more than I should. Open my eyes to see their faithful work, and give me both the words and the actions to honor them well. Amen.
We live in a culture simultaneously obsessed with celebrity and deeply suspicious of institutions — and pastors often get caught in that crossfire, placed on impossible pedestals or treated with reflexive skepticism. Paul's instruction cuts through both extremes. It's not a call to blind deference to authority. It's a call to pay attention — to actually notice when someone is doing the hard, often invisible work of leading well, and to honor them for it in ways that cost you something. Think about the person in your faith community who has quietly shown up — who returned your call when you were falling apart at 11 PM, who prepared the lesson no one thanked them for, who carried other people's crises while managing their own. 'Double honor' probably isn't a formal ceremony. It might be a handwritten note, a covered meal, or a real conversation that starts with 'I see how hard you work, and it matters.' Who in your life deserves that from you right now — and what's actually stopping you from giving it?
What does 'directing the affairs of the church well' actually look like in practice — what specific qualities or actions make a leader worth honoring?
Have you ever genuinely honored a pastor, elder, or teacher in a meaningful and concrete way — beyond a polite 'good sermon'? What did that look like, and how did it land?
This verse implies some leaders direct affairs well and others presumably don't — how do you hold leaders accountable while still honoring them? Is that a tension, or does one inform the other?
How does the way a community treats its leaders shape the kind of leadership those leaders are able to give? What culture does your community create?
What's one specific, practical way you could show 'double honor' to a leader, pastor, or teacher in your life this week — something beyond words?
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Acts 20:28
Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
Matthew 9:37
Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
Romans 12:8
Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
Hebrews 13:7
The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
2 Timothy 2:6
Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
Luke 10:2
Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Hebrews 13:17
And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
1 Thessalonians 5:12
The elders who perform their leadership duties well are to be considered worthy of double honor (financial support), especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching [the word of God concerning eternal salvation through Christ].
AMP
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.
ESV
The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
NASB
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
NIV
Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.
NKJV
Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching.
NLT
Give a bonus to leaders who do a good job, especially the ones who work hard at preaching and teaching.
MSG