Acts 6:1
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
From time to time, every human organisation will experience rumblings of discontent. They are simply a part of life; exhausting but inevitable. It isn’t open warfare, but it isn’t something that can be brushed to one side either. The problem on this occasion was a practical one, and it was clearly causing great unhappiness. The church in Jerusalem was composed of Jews from different backgrounds. Some of them had always lived in the Jerusalem area and spoke Hebrew or Aramaic, but there were others who were from neighbouring countries and largely spoke Greek. Some of the latter had come to live in Jerusalem towards the end of their lives and were far from their families, so they were particularly vulnerable.
The response of the apostles gives us a good model as to how to handle rumblings of discontent. Firstly, they acted quickly. So often, in my experience, people live with the hope that if they ignore a problem, it will go away. This very rarely happens. The action they took was to appoint seven people to oversee the distribution of the food, to ensure that fairness prevailed. The crucial qualifications that these people had was being full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit.
Question
Why is it so crucial that Church work should be done by people who are full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit?
Prayer
Lord God our Father, help me to be wise whenever I need to respond to rumblings of discontent. Fill me with Your Spirit as I serve You. Amen

Released on 1 Aug 2026