The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. (I Timothy 3:1 ESV)
Noble
Some tasks are more noble than others. But what makes them so? A task is not noble because it is profitable. A task is not noble because it is popular. A task is not noble because it is fun. A task is not noble because it is enjoyable.
As Paul writes to Timothy about the task of being an elder, he calls that task noble.
It is noble because it is self-sacrificing. It is noble because it aims people’s lives towards Jesus. It is noble because it is a clear opportunity to love. It is noble because it is always done directly under the authority of the most noble person in the universe: Jesus Christ.
And while we can nod our heads, thinking of some elder we once knew, I believe Paul is also giving us a hint of how to make more of our tasks noble.
Any task we perform (whether occupationally, recreationally, or casually) becomes noble when it is done sacrificially, when it points people towards Jesus, when it is done in love, and when it is done to the glory of God.
We are peculiar, we can be noble.