While Studying for my sermon I was reminded why Democracy is not necessarily the leadership style of choice for God’s People. Before you shoot me as a communist, remember that we live in a Republic, and though we often throw around the term “Democracy” and seem to be trying to create Democracy in other countries, this country is not one. Democracy means mass rule. Whatever the majority wants, the majority gets. It doesn’t matter if the Majority is right or wrong, or whether what they want is the best thing for everyone (or anyone for that matter), they get what they want because they have a majority.
When the children of Israel sent the 12 spies into the promised land to spy out the land and bring back a report, there we two spies who had faith that God would allow them to succeed if they followed him. God had promised the land to the descendants of Abraham for hundreds of years. God’s will was clear. They were to move forward and conquer the land. Unfortunately, what started as a fact finding mission for strategy sake, turned into an opportunity for disobedience when the other 10 spies, talked about the giants in the land and all of the difficulties they would have if they moved forward. Suddenly, moving forward to take the land, which was obviously the will of God, became negotiable, and the people chose not to go. Democracy wins, but the people of God didn’t.
The vast majority of people in this world are not going to lead forward with vision and faith. I believe God appoints leaders for that purpose, but if the system being used in the church functions as a democracy, those visionary leaders will almost always be overruled by those who are busy looking at the road blocks and not the opportunities. These are good people mind you, and many of them will offer the excuse that they are simply counting the cost. While it is important to plan and look forward, it is sometimes impossible to predict everything that the future holds, especially when you serve a God who can part the Red Sea. Where God leads, He will provide a way, but the majority will very seldom vote to do what is challenging or difficult, and as a result they often reject the leading of their leaders in favor of the comfort of the status quo. For Israel, that meant wandering in the wilderness until an entire generation died off.
Only when we learn to trust and follow godly leaders, will we begin to move forward on God’s timetable. Mass rule WILL leave us disappointed in the desert.
“like”….. keep coming, don’t stop now. How do we know when a leader is in fact, ‘godly’? We live in a day when the truth about what we hear and what we think we know, is harder and harder to discern. In the political arena (and unfortunately that can also include church politics) we are manipulated like never before. I don’t know who said it, but I like it, “…it ain’t what you don’t know, it’s what you ‘know’ that ain’t so.” Keep coming PJ, the bottom line is that as Christians we need to be able to hear for ourselves, from God Himself, so as to discern who is the godly leader. We’re too used to letting everything and everyone push our thinking around…. and I’ll be the first to admit that it is hard, w/ all the “noise”, to hear Him. I can also testify, He’s always talking. I love His still small voice.
Thank you for reminding me that I must listen to the voice of God. What others say or think really is not what God may want.(sometimes the worldy voices try to shut out the voice of God)
The question of how to to know when a leader is ‘godly’ is answered in the same story that prompted this post…before the children of Israel ever sent out the spies, Miriam and Aaron begin to question why Moses gets to call the shots, and a comment is made in Numbers 12:3 NLV in a Parenthetical statement “3 (Now Moses was very humble—more humble than any other person on earth.)” I believe Humility is the best indicator of a Godly leader, with the second test being whether or not he follows faithfully the two greatest commands as presented by Jesus. To love God with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love his neighbor as himself. The old standard of holiness (don’t smoke drink or chew, or go with girls that do:-) pales in comparison with these tests. Humility and love are very difficult to fake.
While it is important that people be heard, it is also important to accept the decision of the person in leadership and follow in submission. Submission is a word that few of us like but it seems to be a recurrent theme in the bible. The bible also tell us that not many of us should desire to have this position because it carries a heavier responsibility.
As I read this, I am reminded of a decision that was recently made and hope it is not the case as the situation Israel created in Numbers 12.