Jump Start # 1627

1 Samuel 2:12 “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the Lord.”

 We heard a great lesson yesterday at our congregation from a talented young preacher about Eli and his boys. It was a powerful reminder to all of us about our roles as parents. Hands on is the only way we can help shape the moral and spiritual direction of others. It’s not the church’s job, but the parents role to raise their children up in the Lord.

What a blunt statement our verse starts with, “the sons of Eli were worthless men.” Such language would not be acceptable today. Some would tell us to find good in them. There is good in everyone, we are told. That search for something good, often leads one to overlooking the obvious wrong. God called these boys worthless. They were priests serving God’s people, yet they were worthless. They did what they wanted to do and they ignored and violated the law of God. They were not leading the nation to God but being terrible role models and indifferent to the important roles that they played.

This leads us to understand that:

1. Not everyone in leadership roles lead. Some don’t care. Some are selfish. Sometimes the worst person may be elected, chosen or appointed to a position. You may witness this at work. Some in management roles do not manage. Some feed office gossip, help turn co-workers against each other and are responsible for creating a toxic and unhealthy environment. It’s hard to deal with this when the boss is acting this way. Some play favorites. Some bend the rules for some but not for others.

Eli’s sons were priests, but they weren’t acting very priestly. They abused the sacrifice. They did things by force. They were immoral and not good examples. They trashed the roles that they were in.

Spiritually, the same has happened in the church. Preachers and elders have trashed their roles, taken advantage of others, bent the rules to their favor, made sure that they benefited financially and ruined things for those who follow. The role of leadership is to lead. You are to help things be better. You are to smooth out problems and not be the source of problems. You are to be the go-to person when there are problems. But more than that, you are paving the way for those who follow you. You are leaving footprints of how things ought to be. The way some have handed things over to the next generation is shameful. They have left the church in a mess. They have discouraged and destroyed the work of God. Worthless leaders can be found today.

2. Not everyone in God’s family is godly. They ought to be, but some are not. Look at these rotten apples in Eli’s family. They broke so many commands doing what they wanted to do. There doesn’t seem to be any humbleness, devotion to God or interests in doing what God said. Sometimes Christians can be mean, ugly in spirit and hurtful. We can be hurt more by fellow Christians than people of the world. Judgmental. Finger pointing. Demanding. Loud. Offensive. Rude. Such should never be found among Christians, but it has and it continues. Eli’s boys, men as they there, because Eli was old, never seemed to appreciate the position and honor that they were in. This is a classic temptation of second and third generation Christians. We’ve grown up knowing only this. We know the songs. We know the routine. We take some of this for granted and have not used this wonderful opportunity to help us, rather, we have misused it to our disadvantage. We have not seriously believed as we should have. We have not seriously connected to either God or His people as we should have. Some use Bible class time not for a period of growing and learning, but to chit-chat with friends. Some have become the worst examples of what a Christian should be.

Worthless priests and worthless Christians do more harm to God’s people than all the world combined. We expect more from our own people. When one sees worthless behavior, they are likely to follow. Christianity becomes shallow, and like the hollow Easter bunny, there is nothing on the inside. Hypocrisy is the next step. Then follows indifference and apathy. In time, if the person has enough nerve, he just drops out. His faith has zero impact upon his decisions, his work and his family. Church is habit. Church is being with friends. Church is nothing about God to this worthless heart. He fools others and he deceives himself. Empty, shallow, and faithless—he is really worthless. He doesn’t help the kingdom grow, because his light has gone out a long time ago. He doesn’t help encourage others to do right, because he doesn’t do right himself. His kind confuses others. He is especially troublesome when he is the preacher or one of the elders. Long after he has moved on or died, people will continue to talk about him in a negative way. He leaves a trail of unpleasant memories. Worthless.

There are several shows on TV where folks will bring old junk to appraisers and find out that they are very valuable. Once in a while, on those shows, someone learns that his treasure is worthless. It has no value. Can’t sell it. No one would buy it. It is worth nothing.  Burned out light bulbs are like that. Broken scissors are like that. Lint from your dryer is like that. We don’t keep those things around. They don’t have other uses. They are not going to be bought on Ebay. They are worthless. Junk. Trash. No value. No use.

It is hard to think that a person could be like that. They are when they are not fulfilling the roles that God wants them to do. Parents can be worthless. Teachers can be worthless. Preachers and elders can be worthless. Eli’s sons, who were priests, were worthless. Worthless because they were not doing what they should. Worthless because they were doing the very opposite of what they should be doing. They were engaged in wrong and wouldn’t stop.

Some parents need parenting. Some teachers need to stop teaching and be taught. Some preachers need to sit on the other side of the pulpit. Some elders need to hang it up and have some one lead them.

Worthless. What a contrast to the parable of the talents where the master declared, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Worthless to well done. It’s a matter of choices. It’s a matter of taking your role seriously. It’s a matter of doing what God wants you to do.

Are you worthless or doing well? You steps, your heart, your words—they tell the story.

Roger