Good and Bad Leadership
Monday March 12th
Psalm 35:11-18
11 Ruthless witnesses come forward;
they question me on things I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good
and leave me like one bereaved.
13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
14 I went about mourning
as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
as though weeping for my mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
They slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;[a]
they gnashed their teeth at me.
17 How long, Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their ravages,
my precious life from these lions.
18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
among the throngs I will praise you.
Exodus 18:7-19:9
13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” 24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.
Matthew 23:13-22
Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees
13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. 15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. 16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
Reflections: Today’s readings are about leadership. Good leadership and bad leadership. We have all been under good leadership and bad leadership and the difference is pretty telling. In the Old Testament passage, Moses is trying to do all the work of God himself. Though he has been anointed by God to lead the large group of Israelites (we are told 600,000 men) and judge their disputes, there is no way he can do it all by himself. Fortunately his father in law Jethro sees he is on the road to “burn out”, confronts him and offers him an alternative plan.
Moses, to his credit, listens and picks capable leaders who are trustworthy, not greedy and fear God (three great qualities in leaders). He then divides up the people into manageable groups (1000’s, 100’s, 50’s and 10’s), and assigns leaders to them based on their leadership capability. I.e. Some leaders can lead 10 and some 1,000, they are both leaders but with different capacity.
In our gospel lesson, we bad leadership. Why? Mainly because the teachers of the Law and Pharisees are hypocrites. They teach one thing and then don’t live it out. Good leaders are an example to the flock, humbly admitting their mistakes, but being willing to be lifelong learners especially in their relationship to God, if they are spiritual leaders. Leaders don’t have to be perfect, but must have their own authentic relationship with the Lord and be living in obedience to Him if they hope to have any influence.
If you look at any influential Christian leader today, you will see it all starts with their own devotion to Christ, and being willing to live a life of obedience submitting to His rule in their lives. Someone may be charismatic, but without godly character their ministry will be on shaky footing and usually fail.
Where is God calling you to lead today? Maybe it is being the leader of your home. God calls us to lead our kids to Christ, and be an example of a disciple to our own family. Maybe it is leading a small group of other men or women. Some of the greatest growth in a Christian life comes in small groups, where people gather in groups of 6 to 10 for prayer, learning to read and apply God’s word and then serving others in Jesus’ name as they are led by the Holy Spirit. Lead where you are today and live a life worthy of Your heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.
The Lord executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger. Deuteronomy 10:18,19
We ought to support such people, so that we may become co-workers with the truth. 3 John 8
God of justice, you are never biased. However, you always favor the powerless, the marginalized, the downtrodden, the hungry, the homeless and the addicted. You call upon us to do the same so we might be co-workers with the truth. Give us courage to face the forces of power and work for justice in every arena of our lives. Amen.
Psalm 35:11-18
11 Ruthless witnesses come forward;
they question me on things I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good
and leave me like one bereaved.
13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
14 I went about mourning
as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
as though weeping for my mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
They slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;[a]
they gnashed their teeth at me.
17 How long, Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their ravages,
my precious life from these lions.
18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
among the throngs I will praise you.
Exodus 18:7-19:9
13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” 24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.
Matthew 23:13-22
Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees
13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. 15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. 16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
Reflections: Today’s readings are about leadership. Good leadership and bad leadership. We have all been under good leadership and bad leadership and the difference is pretty telling. In the Old Testament passage, Moses is trying to do all the work of God himself. Though he has been anointed by God to lead the large group of Israelites (we are told 600,000 men) and judge their disputes, there is no way he can do it all by himself. Fortunately his father in law Jethro sees he is on the road to “burn out”, confronts him and offers him an alternative plan.
Moses, to his credit, listens and picks capable leaders who are trustworthy, not greedy and fear God (three great qualities in leaders). He then divides up the people into manageable groups (1000’s, 100’s, 50’s and 10’s), and assigns leaders to them based on their leadership capability. I.e. Some leaders can lead 10 and some 1,000, they are both leaders but with different capacity.
In our gospel lesson, we bad leadership. Why? Mainly because the teachers of the Law and Pharisees are hypocrites. They teach one thing and then don’t live it out. Good leaders are an example to the flock, humbly admitting their mistakes, but being willing to be lifelong learners especially in their relationship to God, if they are spiritual leaders. Leaders don’t have to be perfect, but must have their own authentic relationship with the Lord and be living in obedience to Him if they hope to have any influence.
If you look at any influential Christian leader today, you will see it all starts with their own devotion to Christ, and being willing to live a life of obedience submitting to His rule in their lives. Someone may be charismatic, but without godly character their ministry will be on shaky footing and usually fail.
Where is God calling you to lead today? Maybe it is being the leader of your home. God calls us to lead our kids to Christ, and be an example of a disciple to our own family. Maybe it is leading a small group of other men or women. Some of the greatest growth in a Christian life comes in small groups, where people gather in groups of 6 to 10 for prayer, learning to read and apply God’s word and then serving others in Jesus’ name as they are led by the Holy Spirit. Lead where you are today and live a life worthy of Your heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.
The Lord executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger. Deuteronomy 10:18,19
We ought to support such people, so that we may become co-workers with the truth. 3 John 8
God of justice, you are never biased. However, you always favor the powerless, the marginalized, the downtrodden, the hungry, the homeless and the addicted. You call upon us to do the same so we might be co-workers with the truth. Give us courage to face the forces of power and work for justice in every arena of our lives. Amen.
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