Hebrews 13:17
Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
When I first read this passage, I thought it was refering to leaders in general, not necessarily spiritual leaders. Our spiritual leaders will have an easier time, and make more headway, if we cooperate and are not overly critical of them. It is not Godly to be critical and unsupportive of them. The verse also reminds us that if we are spiritual leaders, we are to “keep watch as (one) who must give an account.” God notices both how we lead and how we are led. The problematic part of this verse is that we may not always agree with the views of our leaders. If they begin to take us somewhere we are uncomfortable going, we need to speak up. But we can do this with respect.
Holy Lord, thank you for this very provocative scripture. I will think more about it. Help me to fully understand your teaching, and how it should lead me forward. Amen
Becky, transforming
Hebrews 13:17
The first line stopped me cold! I’ve read too many stories about spiritual leaders who have abused their power over their people, particularly young people. Yes, they will be accountable to God, but we must learn to pay more attention when questionable activities, words, etc. are brought to our attention. Our churches of all denominations have learned this the hard way, and often only when they were forced to. They then often made poor choices in an effort to fix the problem. Those choices made everything worse. While we must listen to our leaders, we must also use our minds and intuitions about things and listen carefully to others when they have concerns.
Prayer: Gracious God, I hop…
Friday, August 30th, 2024
Hebrews 13:17
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you
Anyone who wants to get along well with others in any situation needs to have good manners. If you want to succeed, make friends, pretty much anything you want to do in life, you need to understand how to interact with others in a professional and courteous way. This is so fundamental . While this verse concentrates on the church leaders, ,it is revelent to any leader.( in community, town, city…
Hebrews 13:17
Provocative, indeed. Respect, at least at the human level, must be earned. If leaders do not “keep watch over you as those who must give an account,” they are not worthy to bear the responsibility of leadership. On the other hand, leaders who do, have earned the right to be treated as and afforded the respect of a true leader. This does not always mean agreement, and a worthy leader will listen to and carefully discern dissenting opinions. Ultimately a decision must be made, but if done as by one who must give an account rather than as one whose self-interest is paramount, those they lead will have confidence in such decisions.
Prayer - Gracious God, the principles…