Never Let Studying Defeat The Purpose of Studying
No one wants to be used, especially not your church. That precious blood-bought gift of God’s grace is not a platform for you to indulge your fancy for scholarship, nor a venue for you to cloister yourself off from the nitty-gritty of your calling. In fact, if your congregation starts to begrudge your study time (for example, if you hear things like “He spends all his time holed up in his office”), you will need to take a close look at your priorities. It may be that your congregation is serving a vital role in your own sanctification by calling into question the degree to which your study time is really in the service of Christ and his kingdom.