Peculiar Perils of Leadership
Although there are occupational hazards in all callings, the perils of the spiritual leader are especially subtle. He is by no means immune to the temptations of the flesh, but the dangers most to be guarded against lie in the realm of the spirit. He must remember that Satan, his relentless enemy, will take advantage of every inch of ground he concedes in any area of his life.
Pride
The very fact that a man has risen to a position of leadership and prominence tends to engender a secret self-congratulation and pride which, if not checked, will unfit him for further advancement in the service of the kingdom, for "everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord" (Prov. 16:5). Strong and searching words, those! Nothing is more distasteful to God than self-conceit. That first and fundamental sin in essence aims at enthroning self at the expense of God. It was the sin that changed the anointed cherub, guardian of the throne of God, into the foul fiend of hell, and caused his expulsion from heaven.
Of the myriad forms that sin assumes, none is more abhorrent than spiritual pride. To be proud of spiritual gifts that God has bestowed or of the position to which His love and grace have elevated us, is to forget that grace is a gift, and that all we have has been received.
Pride is a sin of whose presence its victim is least conscious. There are, however, three tests that will help us discover whether or not we have succumbed to it.
The test of precedence
How do we react when another is selected for the assignment we expected or for the office we coveted? When another is promoted and we are overlooked? When another out- shines us in gifts and accomplishments?
The test of sincerity
In our moments of honest self-criticism we will say many things about ourselves and really mean them. But how do we feel when others, especially our rivals, say exactly the same things about us?
The test of criticism.
Does criticism arouse hostility and resentment in our hearts and cause us to fly to immediate self- justification? Do we hasten to criticize the critic?
If we are honest, when we measure ourselves by the life of our Lord who humbled Himself even to death on a cross, we cannot but be overwhelmed with the shabbiness, and even the vileness, of our hearts.
Jealousy
Jealousy is a near relative of pride. The jealous person is apprehensive and suspicious of rivals. That temptation came to Moses through the touching loyalty of his own colleagues. "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." Said the outraged Joshua to his master, "Moses, my lord, restrain them" (Num. 11:28). Those two assistants had broken into prophecy, and Moses' loyal followers were jealous on his behalf at the usurping of his prophetic prerogatives and challenge to his prestige.
But envy and jealousy found no resting place in the generous nature of the man who used to speak with God face to face. Such matters could safely be left with the God who had called him.
"Are you jealous for my sake?" was his untroubled response. "Would that all the Lord's people were prophets." The leader who is jealous for God's glory need have no concerns for his own prestige and prerogatives. They are safe in His hands.
Popularity
There will always be those unwise souls who grant undue deference to their spiritual leaders and advisers, and who tend to exalt one above another.
That practice was prevalent in Corinth and caused Paul to write: "When one says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth . . . We are God's fellow-workers" (I Cor. 3:4-6,9).
An exaggerated deference to leaders in the church is a mark of spiritual immaturity and carnality. And an acceptance of such fawning deference by the leader is an evidence of the very same weaknesses. Paul was shocked by it and vigorously repudiated it. It is not wrong to be greatly loved by those whom one has endeavored to serve, but there is always the danger that devotion may be deflected from the Master to the servant. Spiritual leaders are to be "esteemed very highly in love for their work's sake," but that esteem should not degenerate into adulation.
That leader is most successful who attaches the affection of his followers more to Christ than to himself. He can rightly draw encouragement from the fact that his service has been fruitful and appreciated, but he must refuse to be idolized.
What leader or preacher does not desire to be popular with his constituency? Certainly there is no virtue in unpopularity, but popularity can be purchased at too high a price. Jesus made that crystal clear when He said, "Woe unto you when all men speak well of you." And He expressed the complementary truth when he said, "Blessed are ye when men revile you and persecute you, and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake."
