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“To serve or to self?” that is the question. With more clarity, might your position be best described as serving leadership or selfish lordship? Serving leadership is godly leadership; selfish lordship is anything but godly. It is a shaming, guilting and degrading brand of lording over another. The pagans are good at that; don’t you be! It’s one thing to be handed the keys to the kingdom and to go out as His ambassadors to the world to represent Christ as if your words are His words. It’s altogether different and downright wrong to become so enamored with your position that you begin to build your own kingdom occupied by your own words. The former glorifies the One and only Master of the universe; the latter smacks of self-glorification. If you travel down that road for even a moment, you risk developing the belief that you are judge, jury, and executioner—a position God has abdicated to no man.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” The quintessential truth: there is one God, and there is no other but He. There is one Lord; He is Father of all; He is above all, He permeates everything and is the reason you exist. Yes, there is One God, and it’s not you! Certainly you are empowered to be the voice of Christ in the earth, and His hands and feet. Go preach; go baptize; go teach; go minister; go serve; go provide; go be an example to the flock in word and deed. Imitate Christ for sure, but don’t hold yourself out to be God. Satan did that; Pharaoh did that; and King Herod did that. And it did not turn out well for any of them.
Instead of usurping God’s authority, your role as His ambassador is to be a loving example, not a source of prideful condemnation. Remember, receiving condemnation is not an option for God’s children. Nevertheless, the identity politics here is a double-edged sword. On one razor-sharp edge sit Christians in leadership. If you identify with a leadership position, how you represent God is crucial. Who are you as a leader; what is your role, and how will you exercise your God-given authority? The other edge is equally as sharp, and Christians who sit atop its blade are following those Christian leaders, and they too must be crystal clear on their identity. In other words, it is critical in the Church that both Christian leaders and those who follow them have a solid identity doctrine. In plain language, good identity theology is this: whether you are a shepherd or a sheep, you must be fully convinced in your own mind who your are and what you believe!
Nevertheless, it’s safe to say that shepherds have a greater responsibility than sheep and will be judged more harshly by God. Again, leaders must be an example to the flock in word and deed. Shepherd the flock of God, serving as supervisors, not driven by greedy impulses because there is something to gain by lording over others whom God entrusted to you. And worse yet is when your selfish desires are fueled by inauthentic motives. Instead, be willing and eager to be a Christlike example to the flock. What does that look like exactly? If you desire to lead, you must put yourself below those you intend to serve. That’s precisely what Y’shua did; He came to serve, not to be served. Think about it… He was the Teacher of teachers; He was the Master of the universe, and yet He knelt before His disciples just hours before His horrific torture and crucifixion, an He washed their filthy odorous feet. He taught us why; “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” That is serving leadership!
But, if you instead choose to otherwise serve yourself in your honored leadership position, to mislead God’s sheep at all, this is what the Lord has for you; “Woe to the shepherds who injure My sheep in any way or cause them to feel lost! I will punish you for your evil choices. If you cause even one of My little children to stumble by leading them into sin, it would be better for you if you had a 1,500 pound stone attached to a noose around your neck, and you were tossed into the ocean and dragged to the bottom.”
Remember, there is One God, and it’s not you! And if the one-and-a-half-ton millstone yanking you by the neck to the bottom of the ocean is not graphic enough to describe the consequences of leading God’s people astray, consider more closely the depth of the Mediterranean. Sink to the lowest point and there will be 7,500 pounds of pressure per square inch crushing your skull. Yes, shepherds have a greater responsibility than sheep and will be judged more harshly by God, so I implore you to be a serving leader, not a selfish lord. Or, as Paul so eloquently states, “Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.”
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