If all is well and this world is all that matters, a pastor may become jealous of prosperous people who spend their time in leisure. But if suffering abounds, and if prosperity is a cloak for the true condition of frisky, fun-loving perishing Americans, then being a pastor may be the most important and glorious of all work.
when a Christian shall be called from wealth to want, from prosperity to persecution, if he can say, I know that Christ and his cross usually go together; I know that all who will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution, and that I must, through many tribulations, enter into the kingdom of heaven; I know that religion might cost me my estate, my limbs, my liberty, and my life; that if I would reign with Christ, I must suffer with him. All this I know beforehand, and I resolved upon it, and provided for it. The cross will never break the back of this man.