The Tie That Binds
But the Lord became furious with me because of you and he did not listen to me. Deuteronomy 3:26
Because Of You – Do you aspire to leadership? Watch out! Leadership carries with it enormous consequences for your personal spiritual experience. Moses discovered that he had to pay a price for those who rebelled against the Lord under his leadership even though he was innocent.
We are tempted to think that Moses did not enter the promised land because of some personal sin. But Moses himself says otherwise. God refused to allow Moses to enter the land because the people under his care rebelled against the Lord. In other words, Moses was held accountable for the corporate response of all those who were committed to his leadership. Moses paid for another’s sin.
What a devastating reminder this is to us! In a day when we aspire to the status and prestige of leadership, we fail to recognize the terrible responsibility that comes with such a gift. How do you feel knowing that God holds you accountable for those He has put under your care? Are you ready to answer for your children, your Bible study group, your church, your employees? Do you see that their acceptance or rejection of God’s purposes has direct consequences for you? How many leaders have never experienced the fullness of God’s ultimate intention because they had followers who fell away from the truth? Suddenly we see that the context of God’s plan is always within the community. We might stand before Him individually in terms of guilt and forgiveness, but we do not stand before Him individually in terms of the exercise of His purposes. When the Lord asks about our leadership, He will not focus on our personal purity. He will ask about the faith and commitment of those who followed us.
If this doesn’t send a chill up your spine, then you do not understand how immense such responsibility is. Moses knew. His entire mission was to bring the people into the land of milk and honey. Everything he did was devoted to accomplishing that goal. But he was denied completion. He ended a life spent in progress unfulfilled – and all because some under his authority chose to disobey. In our Greek world, we think in terms of individual responsibility. But God is not Greek! He thinks in terms of corporate responsibility. You and I better change our point of view.
Is the completion of God’s purpose in your life going to be frustrated because someone under your authority chooses to disobey? Does that possibility grieve you? What are you going to do about it now?
