Scripture
17So the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord’s sight, for they treated the Lord’s offerings with contempt.18But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the Lord. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest. 1 Samuel 2:17-18
Observation
Within these two verses, we see the summary of leadership that we just finished reading through in the book of Judges. The Judges who were thermometers, reflecting the culture around them, failed miserably. The Judges who were thermostats, regulating the culture around them, were used by God to deliver His people. Hophni and Phineas, the sons of Eli the priest and current Judge of Israel perverted their position of authority by taking advantage of the people instead of serving them. How were they able to get away with this? “Now Eli was very old, but he was aware of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle.” (1 Sam 2:22) A thermometer leader will passively observe rather than actively change the situation. Since Eli would not judge his own sons, God brought down judgment on his family and replaced him with Israel’s final Judge (before the era of the Kings), Samuel. Why did God choose Samuel as the next Judge? “Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever.” (1 Sam. 2:35). Samuel was a thermostat leader who didn’t lose focus on God over time as Eli had done but stayed focused on God and His desires for a lifetime. Samuel was not a passive observer seeking the easiest path around, he was an active participant pioneering a way through to the very center of God’s will. Samuel’s pursuit of the presence of God, his desire to hear God’s voice and obey it changed the spiritual climate in the nation of Israel.
Application
This week is Holy Week! We celebrate the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ without which we would have no hope for salvation or eternal life with God. Next week marks the 57th Anniversary of a follower of Christ named Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a letter he wrote from prison knows as a “Letter From A Birmingham Jail.” Like Samuel, Dr. King was a leader who could not stand idly by in silence while prejudice and wickedness were perpetrated upon people simply because of the color of their skin. On April 12, King was roughly arrested and thrown in jail. While enduring harsh conditions Dr. King wrote the letter responding to several criticisms made by the “A Call For Unity” clergymen. These pastors agreed that social injustices existed but argued that the battle against racial segregation should be dealt with in the courts, not the streets. The Church in Birmingham were thermometers who reacted to the prejudice but did little to change while passively suggesting that King just “wait”. Though stuck inside a jail Dr. King leveraged his limitations as a launchpad for truth. What did he write this letter on if he was in jail? Anything he could get his hands on, including, toilet paper. With great determination he wrote these convicting words that speak to the Church of today as well, “There was a time when the church was very powerful—in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.” Dr. King was calling the Church back to the frontlines of the faith. In a time when people are hoarding toilet paper how amazing to read of a man willing to write on it to mobilize a movement. In a time when many Christians are bemoaning the fact that we can’t be together at Easter due to “stay at home” mandates, Dr. King reminds me of how much can be accomplished from a small confined space. He not only changed the temperature in the room but in the whole country. The Apostle Paul wrote the majority of the New Testament while confined to a prison cell. No one would argue against Paul being a prime example of thermostat leadership. Instead of reflecting our culture, the Church is called to regulate it through serving and risking. Instead of choosing the convenient path what if we pioneered a new one? Instead of people-pleasing and self-preserving what if we were people leading self-denying? Instead of growing impatient during this Pandemic and longing for “what once was”, what if we grew impassioned during this Pandemic and began to speak up for what might be? If Dr. King could use toilet paper to get the word out, how much more so can we use the different communications mediums at our disposal to share hope, life, light, and true leadership during this time of crisis in our country?
Prayer
It starts here, now with me, in my room. I surrender my plans Lord. You’ve called me to be a peacemaker, not a peacekeeper. You’ve called me to see with your eyes and lead through Your Word. Help me to not react from emotion, but to read the room, respond in love and lead from Your Spirit. Whether that “room” is in my home or in rooms that might read a post are watch a message I don’t want to waste the time You’ve given me. Forgive me for places of passivity where I have simply been a thermometer in maintenance mode rather than a thermostat that changes the mood in those You’ve called me to serve. This is about living on purpose with a purpose. Thank You, Jesus, for modeling what true leadership looks like in laying down Your very life for the very people who put You on that Cross. Thank You for loving me that much! I want to love like that!
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