Moses did the right thing when he obeyed God and asked Pharaoh to release the Hebrews—- and those he loved suffered for it. Eventually they were blessed, but what if Moses had given up the first time those that he loved complained or turned against him?
God called Moses to speak some pretty hard words and people he came to help were hurt because of what he had to say. Rarely does God call His prophets to speak soothing words of compliments to those in charge! Moses could see the trouble coming and tried to disqualify himself, but God reminded him that He was able to “qualify” the unqualified.
Those we love will at times suffer if we are faithful to Him—no two ways about it. Perhaps that is why so few are faithful to him. Our loyalty tends to be first with our spouses, children or parents—not our Heavenly Father. No wonder Jesus told us that unless we hate those on the earth we hold closest to our heart, we could not be His disciple.
The desire to be loved is primal, but the desire to be admired is something that leads to pride and eventually to the temptation to be envied. Lucifer, the fallen angel, began the same way. His desire for God to be admired and loved was supplanted by his desire to be admired and loved. The universe has suffered under the curse of that rebellion ever since.
My challenge in operating a sports camp is reminding (or teaching) the campers the importance of not so much about being a good loser, but about being a winner! We’re surrounded by professional athletes that live for the praise of their fans, and the more flamboyant, controversial and ostentatious they are, the more they appear to be worshipped by those that follow them. It’s not that they are poor losers (though many of them are) but rather that they don’t know how to win with grace and humility. They brag, pump their fists in the air, dance around the goal posts, point their fingers to themselves and in general make fools of themselves. But the masses approve of this, so they happily oblige the crowds. Where are the men of humility like Moses who accepted ridicule in order to lead the masses to a better place and a fuller understanding of God and our place?
I wonder if a Moses, or Amos or Saint Paul could survive politically in the USA if they were alive today? Can anyone speak for God in our nation or serve in Washington, DC? And even within the churches, I have noticed that the lead pastors are often quick to advertise and remind us that they are the “third largest church in America” or one of the “100 fastest growing churches”, etc. Such a focus would astound the prophets and apostles of old. Their hope was to simply be faithful to the one that qualified them to speak, teach, disciple and evangelize.
God send us men of humility to lead, inspire and challenge us….
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