You can judge the character of a person by what he esteems. A fine piece of art should be esteemed for its intrinsic worth. If a person cannot recognize the value of the art the problem does not lie in the art but in the critic. Such is the case in matters of godliness. Sinful people are unable to esteem true godliness in others. It might seem that true godliness would be very obvious and elicit an almost automatic emotion of commendation but that does not universally hold up. It depends on the character of the observer.
If one of the original apostles were to enter into a time machine (a TARDIS?) and appear today would they receive a welcome audience? Absolutely. If they were to preach one time they could sell out the Dallas Cowboy Stadium and book a world wide television audience. That is the case because time has elapsed and we now recognize their value over the course of history. But during their actual ministry were they held in such high esteem? One would think yes. They had been with Jesus for three years. They had the true authority passed unto them. Certainly all would hang on every word they spoke! Yet we have record of them not being so received always in the church.
In Paul's epistles to the Corinthians you can feel his frustration with this church that has, in a sense, moved past Paul. They just didn't think he was hot stuff. He was not all that impressive in his preaching, presence and ministry. Sure his letters had weight, but Paul was not weighty. There were other teachers that had entered the scene who were much more impressive, and they awed the Corinthians with their knowledge, spirituality and gifts. So Paul had to argue that he was no less than any of the remaining eleven apostles. He had to justify before them his calling, revelations, and authority towards them. What a frustrating task to have to prove to people why they should esteem you. Paul does not make an appeal to his revelations but to his sufferings and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit through his ministry. If anybody truly walked with Jesus, it was Paul, but this church just could not see it.
You might think it was understandable that they did not esteem Paul. He was not one of the original twelve. His conversion was later and he had persecuted the church. Certainly people would at least respect the original apostles. But that is also not the case. In I Corinthians 4:9-13 Paul remarks that he thinks that "God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become as a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men...we are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute...we have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things." Paul is not just talking about himself but the whole of the apostles. The Apostle John in 3 John rebukes Diotrephes "who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority." Diotrephes did not esteem John enough to listen to what he had to say. But then John had only leaned on the chest of Jesus and been beloved of him. What would he know?
The lack of esteem that both the world and the immature Christians of the day had for the apostles was rooted in a worldly understanding of what should be esteemed. The accumulation of learning, impressive presence and speaking, demonstrable strength and authority, and empirical success is what sways the hearts and eyes of those who have not yet known the humble hearted Savior Jesus. Paul never boasted in the same kind of resume that the false teachers of his day flaunted. Instead he boasted in those things that made him weak. He bragged about sufferings, persecutions, dangers and want. It was in the weaknesses that the Holy Spirit worked and God glorified himself. False teachers want to glorify themselves so they can control people. The godly become less so that Christ becomes more.
We should not be surprised if people do not esteem godly amongst us. If the Master was not esteemed what hope do his disciples have. "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." (Isaiah 53:3). "He came to his own and his own did not receive him" (John 1:11). The rejection of Jesus by mankind is the ultimate rebuke against our inability to esteem true godliness. We fall for the false image of self-righteousness. But when we look at the wonderful configuration of humility, power, holiness, boldness and compassion found in Jesus we can not comprehend it. As we follow Christ he calls us into a fellowship of his sufferings. Part of the cross we bear will be to endure that same kind of dishonor that he endured. But in that suffering we will be honored by the Lord and we will also have encouragement from those saints, be they few, who can recognize the Lord at work in a fellow believer. "But whatever gain I had, I count as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." (Phil. 3:7-8).
