I read Jeremiah 23-29 today,1 and the theme that stuck out to me was the contrast between good prophets/shepherds/priests and bad prophets/shepherds/priests.
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the LORD. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the LORD. -Jeremiah 23:1-4
Here we read a stern warning against those who are supposed to care for God’s people but fail to do so, and other passages from these chapters contrast Jeremiah, the true prophet of God with a false prophet who tells people what their itching ears want to hear.
These words serve as a reminder of the serious responsibility that those in ministry, vocational and volunteer, have. It doesn’t matter if you’re a megachurch pastor or the leader of a three person small group, I believe these words are for you.
So how do we avoid leading God’s people astray? There are obviously many things we could mention, but I think one of the most important is humility.
Humility means that we know our goal is to glorify God and not self, to decrease that He might increase. It means that we do God’s will even if it’s unpopular because we care what God thinks, not what others think, that we place his glory ahead of our own self-interest.
Humility recognizes that we don’t have all the answers, that we must turn to God and wise counsel.
Humility is open to correction.
Without humility, I don’t know how we will serve God or others well.
1For those of you who attend NCC and are following the Bible reading plan, yes, I’m a few days behind.
