5. Salary Discontent- It would be unethical though maybe not illegal for a contractor to continue to go back to the buyer and request funds on top of funds in order to finish a job. This is sometimes inevitable with unforeseen circumstances but borders on the dishonest when the contractor is looking to milk the job for all he can.
Missionaries must resist this urge, I think, to write about every need they have when it is in their salary and budget to take care of the need themselves with a little bit of saving and forethought. My brother is a colonel in the US Army. He doesn’t get to go to the army every time his personal car breaks down but at the same time he does get to turn in the receipt if his tank breaks down. This difference is important and requires discernment on the part of the missionary.
John the Baptist famously taught soldiers to be content with their salary and not to extort money from the populous. Are you extorting funds by constantly asking for more when you are actually fully supported to accomplish the job you have been sent to do? Be careful to make sure you are raising funds for the mission and not to avoid saving, planning, and contentment on your part.
Conclusion
This is a fearful article to write because it is an issue of a moat and a speck. I cannot say that I am better than any man. I must examine myself and my mission practices if I am asking other men to do the same. I want to live a life of constant review and repentance. I have not been without blemish.
So I am not lifting myself up while putting others down. What I do hope to do is to encourage men who love Jesus and his mission to be aware of the temptations of unethical practices that go along with a calling that includes so little financial and ethical oversight. We should run away from temptation and seek to live a life before the eyes of God that is upright and honest.