Be Still and Know - Avoid Placing Too Much Confidence In Human Leaders
(from www.premierchristianradio.com)
Psalm 146:3-5
“Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.”
I haven’t done it myself, but I am told that if you were to count up all the verses in the entire Bible, Psalm 146:3 is the exact midpoint. It certainly declares a critically important truth. It isn’t claiming that powerful and influential people are unimportant, but it seeks to contrast their limited importance with the unlimited power, love and importance of God. We should pray for and celebrate the work that our leaders do. They have a crucial role in the life of the Church and wider society. Throughout the whole Bible, we see God using leaders to achieve his purposes. But when we place too much faith in them, it can go wrong. Earthy leaders may be good, but they are not perfect. Even the best leader can make foolish decisions at times, and all of them will become old and die. No doubt we will all have seen churches (and other organisations) that have depended so completely on their leader that when they fell ill, slipped up morally or died, they have been totally devastated. God calls on us to place our complete confidence in him for the very solid reason that he is in a league all of his own. The psalmist points to the fact that “he made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise for ever” (v6). You can’t say that of any earthly leader. They might be impressive, but they certainly didn’t create the world. At best, they can only keep their promises while they are alive. We should give thanks for our leaders, but not place too great a burden of expectation on them. If we do, we will be horribly disappointed. Instead, we need to place our full trust in God.
QUESTION
How can we avoid placing too much confidence in human leaders?
PRAYER
Lord God, I thank you for the gift of good leaders but help me always to see that you alone are worthy of all my hope and trust. Amen