PUTTING IT ALL ON THE LINE
My husband is running for local council. For the most part I have remained undisclosed in the campaigning and in the exposure. I have watched as he has interacted with the community and as the community has interacted with him. It has been an amazing journey for him already.
He shared with me a revelation he had about coming out from behind the Sunday pulpit and practicing what he was preaching in a very practical way. As Election Day approaches, to him it’s not really about winning. I overheard him telling our daughters last week, “There’s more to winning than winning.” (I know, what a guy!)
To him it is a door into the lives, homes and businesses of everyday people. To him it is a way to show them a reflection of the Father’s heart through an everyday Christian who wants to put himself out there to serve them in some capacity.
We were well prepared and expectant for what was to come once Sam made himself a more public figure. Leading up to it, I was curious to see what would be the dominant theme among the Australian way of thinking. Human nature – what is the basic response of humanity towards leadership? I knew something would emerge and I was interested to see what that would be.
Our leaders will lead to the extent we release them. We determine their reach, their effectiveness and their capacity by the degree of our receptiveness to their leadership. A leader cannot lead someone who won’t be led. Conversely though, a leader who has the hearts of the people can lead them into their future.
Ultimately we have the leaders we create
Scripture shows us repeatedly the possible outcomes for both honour and dishonour. Account after account testifies to us that a critical spirit limits not only the leader but the one being led as well. On the flip side, we see the amazing reports of individuals who were blessed and propelled into their futures because they understood the spiritual law of honour.
God honours ordeR
I have watched the comments fly between candidates, between followers. I have seen, what they call, “online trolls” pull down candidates and mock people behind cowardly masks of fake media accounts and the rest.
It has made me wonder how a person, good or bad, can make any progress if the general public is being conditioned to respond so aggressively and negatively. How can a community ever advance in those conditions?
I’m not saying that Sam has been the recipient of too much of this kind of behaviour. For the most part we laugh at the end of each day (a lot!!) at what goes on in this race. But I do feel that it is a reflection of the fallen heart of humanity. It is a heart that does not even recognise it has become its own worst enemy.
The very first commandment in scripture that had a promise attached to it related to this principle.
Exodus 20:12 (NLT)
12 Honour your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
There were no pre-requisites, no criteria, that would condition their worthiness; just a call for honour of authority if you want it to go well with you.
We see a young David insist on honouring a crazed King – a King who was after David’s own life, hunting him in caves and forests and forcing him into exile. David maintained a heart of honour and reverence in the face of undeserved persecution and threat. David knew God’s mandate on leadership – crazy or not – and David knew his place. Until the Lord changed the leadership Himself, David would give genuine honour.
In the midst of the chase, David must have wondered if it would ever end. He must have questioned and doubted that this was the will of God.
Spiritual truths are truths regardless of the “context”.
Honour leads to blessing – that’s the truth.
Maybe not right away, but surely in the end.
Our integrity and credibility depend on our conduct in the face of opposition more than at any other time.
David was eventually elevated beyond any measure he could have arranged for himself. Much better to have God work out leadership than trying to bring the demise of a leader through corrupt means on your own.
We see Caleb’s response to a rebellious nation of grumbling people. They dismissed Moses’ instruction. They pulled down their leaders. They mocked the Promise of God through their dishonor and refusal to be led.
In the end they perished in their own dysfunction and in their own wilderness. Not because God didn’t want to bless them. Not because their leaders weren’t capable of leading them into blessing. But because they refused to be led.
It would have served them well to dial down their ‘wisdom’ and display an element of teachability instead.
Caleb and Joshua were the only ones who gained access to the bounty of God’s promise all because they were obedient, faith-filled and honouring.
Our world is aggravated, irritated and distrustful. What if the Jesus-followers started shouting more loudly a different kind of speech? Language filled with edification, respect, and hope. I’ve noticed that society is thirsty for this kind of water. They may not know how to source it for themselves but they happily receive it.
I believe that part of the healing impact the Church should have on society is through the refinement of language and attitude.
I want to challenge you. Sing a different tune. Play a different beat. Redirect the course of where your community is heading. Speak up with the language of honour, hope, faith and positivity. Make the job easier for those leading you by building up rather than tearing down.
