Jump Start # 1354

Ezekiel 34:4 “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.”

  In our verse today, God through Ezekiel is rebuking the leaders, called shepherds in this context, of Israel. They haven’t been doing their job. The people were a mess and the finger pointing was directed toward the leaders. They took care of themselves but ignored the flock of God. Using the analogy of sheep, God describes their condition: sickly, diseased, broken, scattered, and lost. Sheep in this condition would not bring any money on the market. This is about as bad as a flock can get. Scattered, lost, sick, diseased are the worst words to hear concerning sheep. God is not talking about real sheep. He’s talking about his people. The leaders of Israel had not led. They have left the people to themselves and they have fallen apart spiritually.

There are three lessons here:

First, many of the problems here could have been prevented had the shepherds been watching and involved with the sheep. Often we wait until there is a problem and we spend a lot of effort cleaning up messes that could have been prevented. This is true in parenting and this is true in congregations. Preventative care– we do that with our teeth by going to the dentist, and we do that with our cars by getting the oil changed. If we wait until there are problems, then there are real problems. Often it’s painful, expensive and very involved in turning things around. Spending time with the sheep the shepherds would have noticed things. They would have counted the sheep and noticed a few missing. They would have noticed that some were off their food. They would have seen that some were developing sores, which indicated a greater problem. The proper steps could have been put in place to keep the sheep well.

Today, some of God’s leaders sit back and watch a marriage start to unravel. They see that things are not good. Yet, nothing is done. Then the word reaches them that a divorce is the works. They get excited and want to get involved and at that point it’s nearly too late. Why wasn’t something done months earlier? Many problems can be fixed before they actually become problems if the leaders were engaged and involved.

Second, the language tells us that these sheep could still be saved. The problems were not fatal. Things could be turned around. The sick could be strengthened. The diseased could be healed. The broken could be bound up. The scattered could be brought back. The lost could be found. It wasn’t too late. Things could be done. It would take work, effort and attention by these shepherds, but it could be done. Some would just want to hand the keys over and walk away. Too much work for some. Others are not as optimistic as God is. They already give up. They see it as a lost cause. Sometimes it gets to that point but not without some saving effort. I wonder if we give up too easily. I wonder if we don’t like doing what is necessary to turn these people around.

Third, we must look to ourselves and see what we are doing. How about our families? How about the congregation? Having that talk with your son may not be something you really look forward to. You anticipate a verbal battle. He’s not really doing anything wrong, but the kids he’s hanging out with, and some of his attitudes, you know where this will lead. You can head it off and prevent greater problems, or you can just close your eyes, believe that your son would never do anything wrong and then wait. Wait until the school calls. Wait until the police show up. Wait until there is a serious problem and then you have more things to deal with. The same with the leaders in God’s kingdom today. We can see the church drifting. We can see things getting stale. We can see attendance dropping off. We can do nothing until there is a really serious problem, like a third leaving and starting their own congregation, or we can take steps to heal things.

Some never see the signs that are right before them. They may be too busy with their own lives to notice those that they ought to be leading. This was the problem with the shepherds in the Ezekiel passage. The leaders were fed, clothed and doing well. They had taken care of themselves. It’s the flock that was being ignored.

Those in the position of leading, whether it is the home or the congregation, must do their jobs well. Others are counting on them. Others need them. Others can’t do it without them.  Leading is important work. It is not found in shouting and screaming at people like a drill sergeant. It is teaching, showing and doing things with them. It’s being in front, not behind. It’s illustrating by doing. It’s taking time with others. It’s being kind and patient with others. Parenting works the best this way. Shepherding works the best this way.

Troubled homes and dysfunctional congregations seem to be the norm today. It shouldn’t. Maybe it’s time for leaders to get back to leading again. Maybe this time, it’s time to lead God’s way.

Roger