Proverbs 26: 10 The great God who formed everything gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages. (New King James Version/ NKJV)
Proverbs 26: 10 Like an archer who wounds at random is he who hires a fool or any passer-by. (New International Version/ NIV)
Proverbs 26: 10. Just the other day I was saying how exciting it is to seek God in the scriptures as I reconcile what at first look like contradictions in the Bible. And then I come to this verse. Proverbs 26: 10 had me reviewing translation notes for Hebrew to Latin to English and analyzing the interpretive philosophies of several generations of Bible translators. This was especially fun since I don’t read Hebrew or Latin.
The King James style translators wrote the verse one way. The more contemporary translators (NIV-style) render the verse a different way. In this case the light is found not in reconciling apparently contradictory passages in a single translation but in reconciling what look like contradictory translations of a single passage.
So look:
In most companies or agencies you’re hired by one person/ department but you’re paid by another. Regardless what the human resources guy says, if your information and documentation isn't correct with accounting, you won’t get paid what you think you’re going to get paid. We choose/ hire our leaders. We can choose to set foolish or immoral people in positions of influence & honor. Current leaders can give promotions for the sake of expediency. They have a spot to fill & they just need the first warm body they can to find to fill the vacancy.
But even/ especially for ministries, when we (intentionally or thoughtlessly) elevate the wrong people, bad leaders create chaos and damage within the Kingdom. It’s like firing arrows in the dark into a crowd and hoping that nobody innocent gets hurt. Yeah, sometimes you pick a good leader, even choosing at random, but it’s a dangerous & foolish way to choose. Bad leaders do harm. We can try to cover the damage (damage control), but God sees the whole scene for what it is, and God will respond.
God is the supreme accountant who pays each & all of us based on our actions (Hebrews 4: 13; Romans 14: 11, 12).
If our actions cause chaos & damage to the body of Christ, God will pay us/ pay us back for that. If our actions hinder the gospel of Jesus He will pay us/ pay us back for that. If our actions oppose the will & plan of God out of laziness, convenience, or political expediency, God will pay us/ make us pay for that.
It may be human beings who hire, elect, or appoint new leaders, but if the actions of leadership aren’t right with the Lord who keeps full account, then the pay (or payback) won’t be what we or our leaders want it to be.
- Anderson T. Graves II
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is the pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church
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I know first-hand how bad leaders can damage the body of Christ. We as leaders must be prayerful in who we appoint/hire/select for leadership roles. What is so puzzling to me is the fact that most of the time bad leaders are allowed to continue in their positions for extended periods of time and then when they have killed/damaged/destroyed the congregation, leaders who should have been in that position in the first place are then sent there to resurrect/initiate healing. Why not choose wisely in the beginning?
ReplyDeleteCarolyn, the Lord really hit me hard as I was wrestling with this verse. This is the time of year I have to decide whose names to call out for confirmation as church officers for the next conference year. I'm thinking and praying hard about whether certain positions might be better vacant rather than filled with the only person who'll/ who usually accepts it.
ReplyDeleteIt's no easy thing---the task of being the leader who chooses leaders.