My First Priority

I have always battled in ministry about salary. It seems that in the church world, ministers are expected to work for marbles and the arguement is "let God provide the rest". That is a copout to me and that is not what scripture says. I have searched for a long time for the Bible to justify my thoughts on this issue. In Ist Timothy 5:1 and 5:18, it says that if you do not provide for your family you have denied the faith and you are worse than an unbeliever. Also, in the second part it says that a preacher/teacher is worthy of his wages and not to muzzle the ox while threshing or put constraints on his effectiveness because of poor pay. I am not saying that ministers should seek out riches or lavish salaries but they need to be awarded a level of pay that takes care of them and their family. It is God's will that we make sure that we are at the cost of living rate for that area. If not, we cannot provide for our family and the Bible says that we are a worse than an unbeliever. WOW, the Bible does not mince words. Unless God tells you as a minister directly to take a job with poor pay and he will provide the rest, we should never go into a position that has a salary that will not meet our family's needs. God has appointed the man of the house to provide for his family and be the leader. I am so glad showed this to me, because I was asking him and he confirmed my feelings on this matter. God honors those who take care of their own first. Our families should be our top priority.