In Acts 6, there begins to be a controversy over dividing up the money to care for the widows. The Greek widows aren’t getting equal care to the Jewish widows.
Acts 6:2
So the twelves called the whole group of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables.
This is one of those tricky spots where people argue about whether the book of Acts is the way we should be or just an account of how the apostles were. It’s funny though, because this verse kind of rubs me the wrong way. It seems kind of cocky or arrogant for them to say “we can’t neglect the word of God to wait tables” when giving food to the poor and the widows was CORE to a lot of the things that Jesus had taught them.
But then look at the requirements/credentials for the guys they chose!
Acts 6:3
But carefully select from among you, brothers, seven men who are well-attested, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this necessary task.
So Peter and the guys don’t want to be neglect the word of God for waiting tables, but the people they chose to take on the job were pretty heavy hitters. “well attested, full of the Spirit and of Wisdom” etc.
The guys they chose were mostly greek, which would have made the people happy that were complaining that the greeks were being treated unfairly. You also have to notice, if you know what happens in the next chapter, that the first one on the list is Stephen…
Acts 6:5
The proposal pleased the entire group, sot they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch.
It doesn’t take long and Stephen gets arrested. You can read the whole account in Acts 6:8 through to Acts 7.
What is amazing is that this waiter is next on the list of people being brought before the priests and being questioned! He’s the guy that they say “has a face like an angel” and goes on to be the first follower of Jesus killed for his faith.
It just goes to show that everyone, from the least (waiters for widows) to the greatest (Peter & co. dedicating their time to the Word of God) need to be ready to give an answer and explanation for what they do. Every part of the Body of Christ needs to be equally connected to Jesus. Everyone needs to be equally in contact and in life with Him, because every one of us is an equal example of His life in the world.