John Stott in his commentary on Acts suggests that in Acts 6 we have one of many attacks of Satan on the church and its leadership. Satan has tried internal moral scandal (Acts 5) and external persecution (Acts 4). Now, Satan hits the leadership directly.Hellenistic Jews are being overlooked in the distribution of food and the apostles need to do something about it. Stott suggests Satan is trying to get the apostles to stop preaching and praying and instead take care of the food distribution themselves.
Ironically, we find a similar issue as the young nation of Israel begins their mission. In Ex. 18 the people have cases and disputes that need to be settled and it takes Moses from morning till evening to deal with all the matters. Moses can do little else because these disputes take all his time and energy.
In both cases, it seems the emerging mission of God’s people is threatened when the leaders are tempted by distraction. The apostles are about to be distracted from their work of “prayer and the ministry of the word” by the needs of food distribution. Moses is about to be distracted from his work of leading the nation to its new home by the daily disputes of the thousands of people. Not that food distribution and conflict resolution are insignificant or unimportant. But that was not the calling God had given the apostles/Moses.
In both cases it took a humble willingness on the part of the apostles/Moses to admit that they did not have to do everything themselves and that God had provided others who were gifted and called to do the very work which was about to distract these leaders from their own calling.
What have you been called to do? What can you do that only you can do? In what ways are you trying to do everything yourself? What is facing you today or this week or this year that God may have gifted and called others to do?
