I was on a retreat most of last week, so I had Vic Spencer fill in for me. He did an outstanding job. He talked about the Israelites and their propensity for grumbling, complaining, and divisive talk. More specifically, how those things really rub God the wrong way… in a “earth-opens-up-and-swallows-you” kind of way. Unfortunately, this is a touchy subject for most people because it touches on issues concerning authority and submission. Those two topics make everyone nervous because no one likes getting hurt and most leaders are afraid of being perceived as a proud overlord.
The text that really rocked me was Numbers 12. Miriam and Aaron are speaking against Moses, and not without reason. Moses had married a Cushite woman. He had broken the Law by marrying a Gentile. Yet, when Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses, God responds this way:
Listen to my words: “When a prophet of the Lord is among you,
I reveal myself to him in visions,
I speak to him in dreams.But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house.
With him I speak face to face [ESVsays "mouth to mouth"], clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?
Wow… “why were you not afraid…” Vic brought out the fact that in some of the exchanges between Moses and God, God makes it clear that He views speaking against Moses as speaking against God. So it’s not about Moses. It’s about God.
It’s at this point that many of us get our underwear in a bunch and start calling foul. We start freaking out about top-heavy and controlling leadership, unjust (and unaccountable) leaders in the Church, etc, etc. We pump our fists and make t-shirts that say, “Don’t let the man keep you down.” And I understand why. Scriptures like these have been used by many a Christian dictator-pastor to ride roughshod over the sheep like a bully in the schoolyard. One of the key points in Numbers 12 is that Moses was a meek, mild-mannered man. He didn’t get mad and pound the pulpit with a sermon series on authority. He didn’t defend himself to Miriam and Aaron… but God sure did. I’ve never had leperosy, but I’m told it’s a real downer. At the very least, it really hurts your social prospects and makes it hard to get a hug.
Like most things, this comes down to the posture of our hearts. Miriam and Aaron had a point about Moses. They were technically correct, but their hearts we wrong. They were angry at God, upset about their circumstances, tired of living in the desert, and were looking for any excuse to step over Moses and get what they wanted. They found a chink in his armor and used it to validate the iniquity that was already in their hearts. As Vic pointed out, it was the rebellion in their hearts that was their downfall. They forgot that Moses had God’s approval. He was a friend of God.
I was personally convicted over this issue thinking about all the times when I chaffe against authority in my life. I pick out the smallest imperfections in them and use that as validation for my rebellion against God. I get pulled by a cop that acts like a jerk and all I can talk about is what a jerk that guy was and not how I was breaking the law and deserved every bit of it. How many times over the years have I disrespected or ignored one of my bosses because I didn’t like a decision they made? Man, I have done that so many times!
At the retreat I just attended I got to hang out with some other pastors and hear their stories. It’s amazing how across the board the most problematic sin issue in their churches (regardless of the church model, authority structure, etc) is gossip and grumbling. It wrecks people and entire churches. It derails the mission. It’s puts us in opposition to God.
Proverbs 6:16-19
16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.
(emphasis mine)
Ouch. Hurts so good.
Great thoughts Ben. Really hits home. Those built with natural gifts of leadership by God, often are twisted by the enemy into issues of authority submission and rebellion. However, the real way that leadership is built is under the authority that God gives you. As David didn't take the authority from Saul, so he didn't have to keep it from Absolom. Leadership of all kinds is made to be under authority, ultimately of God's in the end. This is an issue I've been wrestling with for a long time!