Wednesday 14th
Hebrews 13:7,17
NIV (vv7,17) – ‘Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith . . . Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.’
ESV (vv7,17) – ‘Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith . . . Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.’
I have combined both these verses together as they are speaking of leadership and authority in the Church. Although these verses are an instruction to the readers as the community of the Church, the flock as Peter would call them, it is also a challenge to those of us who are leaders. For what strikes me first of all is not the need for obedience and submission to leadership, although that is important, but the need for the leaders to lead and to live lives that are good examples to the flock! See if a leader is not a good example, then they cannot expect the flock to show the obedience and submission that the Scripture calls for. The phrase is used ‘consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith’, I only want to imitate something that is good or of value, and therefore any of us who are leaders need to ensure that the example we are showing in our walk of faith, in our lives, our homes, families, ministry and areas of integrity and morality are good examples, examples that we would be happy for our flock to model their lives upon. It means that we who are leaders in the Church need to stop at times and do a stock take, an honest appraisal of our lives and see what kind of an example we are, this may even mean that we will need to be open to honest criticism or correction from others. Scripture in turn helps us to know that if we want to be good examples, then we must as leaders model our lives upon the One who was the greatest example of all, the Lord Jesus Christ, we see this in Philippians 2:3-5 ‘Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus . . .’
The second challenge in these verses to leaders is that we are to watch over the souls of the flock under our care and as those who will have to give an account. This is another sobering thought that everyone of us who are in a position of leadership will have to give an account as to how well we have cared for the flock under our care! This rules out any form of sloppy leadership or carelessness, for we have a responsibility toward the wellbeing of the souls of those under our care, therefore we need to care for them well, feed them well, with good healthy spiritual food and be there when a need arises. Taking all this into account leaders need to heed Acts 20:28 ‘Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.’
Submission and obedience are ugly words in todays society, we fight for our rights, we fight for our independence, but obedience and submission are very clearly taught in Scripture in a number of places and they help us to understand something of divine order that God has set in place for the wellbeing of mankind.
It has nothing whatsoever to do with an enforced submission and an enforced obedience, but they are responses that freely flow from out of an atmosphere of love and respect between the various parties. For example, if someone who is in a position of authority above me in any form shows to me the respect that I deserve as a person then I willingly submit to and demonstrate obedience to their authority. And God has put this pattern into society from the very beginning at creation and it has followed through into the building of the Church, the body of Christ.
Respect must be earned, but respect must also be shown where it has been earned.
The writer adds these words, ‘let them do it with joy and not groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you’. My imagination has thought of something and it is a poor example I know but I hope it helps, take a piece of machinery, for the machinery to run well, it needs to be oiled, every part needs to be properly fitted into place and in working order and then it can do whatever it has been purposed to do. There has to be an initial start for the machinery to be able to work, for example the key that winds up a clock, it builds up the tension in the spring and then every cog, spindle etc. does its bit as it submits to the authority of the key and the spring and the clock begins to tick and the hands turn and the clock works. The key is like the leader, the spring is like the leadership team, as they set to work playing their part there is an obedience and submission that follows from all the rest that keeps things ticking over like a well oiled machine. It speaks of an essential unity in the Church despite the difference of roles, gifting’s and ministry, as we work in unison together it will be demonstrated by a Church that functions smoothly, can I say with the oil of the Holy Spirit and leadership will be joyous, and submission and obedience toward leadership will also be a joy. I end this devotion with these simple words, whatever our position or responsibility in the Church we all need each other, and I acknowledge here that I most definitely need you.