“And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Israel…” Numbers 8:19.
This mornings headlines continued the bombardment of both political and sports leaders around our country. As the election year gets underway, every piece of dirt that can be found is being broadcast by the media concerning the political candidates. Also it seems that more and more coaches are being called out for their failure in leadership.
All of this leads to at least two very important questions: 1) Is it necessary to be morally sound in order to lead? 2) How much failure should be allowed before a person is disqualified from leadership?
Certainly there are other important questions we could ask, but for me these two are crucial to our lives as followers of Christ. Let’s explore these questions individually and then together.
First, is it necessary to be morally sound in order to lead? Consider the Levites in Leviticus 8. They could not serve unless they had first been cleansed. “They were to make atonement for the Levites,” Numbers 8:12. The people of God could never lead unless they were cleansed from their sin. The people of God could never serve unless they were cleansed from their sin.
A careful reading of Numbers 6-8 clearly identifies how significant being morally sound is to service. Serving God was not to be entered into lightly. God’s emphasis on purity and sanctification were clear as was God’s emphasis on how to serve. I personally consider those who disregard the need for personal morality as disqualified to lead.
The second question is also very important to answer: “How much failure should be allowed before a person is disqualified?” Again, consider the Levites. Numbers 8:23-25 gives us details about their years of service as well as when they were to retire. However, there is something very significant about the years of service. The writer of Hebrews draws this out, “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,” 10:12.
Maybe you ask, “What is so significant about this?” In the Old Testament, the Priest and Levite’s work was never completed, “They were always standing and offering sacrifices that could never take away sins.” But Jesus sat down in the heavenly temple because His work was completed. We are forgiven in Christ.
The truth is, every person is born as a sinner and every person sins throughout life. However, disqualification comes when a leader chooses to live in unrepentant sin. This is very important to our society today. Confession after the fact is seldom real. Confession after the fact seldom results in sorrow for the sin, but only sorrow for being caught. Yes God can and does forgive those who repent. But here is what Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Godly sorrow leads to repentance.”
This day, we can only become qualified because of Christ. This day, we can only stay qualified because of Christ. I encourage each who read this blog to pray for those in leadership. I encourage you to hold accountable those in leadership. Finally I encourage everyone to share the gospel with those in leadership.