Leaders Are Like Town Clocks

I love reading on my iPhone because if there is anything I don't know and want to look up, I can simply switch apps and google it without loosing where I was reading. I did that this past weekend and got a great little nugget that I wanted to share.

Since I am currently in Leviticus, I was curious about the different offerings and decided to look it up. The commentary I was reading began talking about the priests and how big of a deal it was when they sinned as opposed to anyone else sinning. He used this analogy to explain it and I think it is a great word picture. He said, "The more prominent the man, the more flagrant the sin. A man in public office is very much like the town clock, as more depends on it than on the watch of the individual. If a man's watch goes wrong, only he is misled; but when a public clock is off, many are led astray!"

Wow what a challenge to all leaders! My life and "secret sins" that I think no one knows about doesn't only affect me. It affects many around me, even to the point of leading them astray. When I read this, I pictured a whole town going crazy, people confused and getting frustrated. I know my sin does that to me. I hate the idea of my sin causing a person to wander in confusion or frustration because of something in me not correctly mirroring or honoring the scripture.

I don't think it's just obvious sins either. It can be in my pride of disobeying God in the small things I know he's told me to do, or when I choose to live by my emotions and own logic rather than the Spirit. Even if you are not in church leadership, you are still leading someone - your wife, kids, grandkids, a co-worker, a school mate, etc. So let's allow God to search and test our hearts and make the necessary changes he points out to us.

Psalm 139: 23-24

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." NLT