Hebrews 13:17-19 {Lesson 13/Day 8}

I’ll be honest, the words “obey” and “submit” from today’s passage make me bristle a bit...ok, a lot. I hear those words and I honestly think two things: “Nope.” I’m a grown up, so the only person I’ll obey or submit to is Jesus. Then I read a verse like this and I re-read it, and I look it up in the Greek and in several translations, I keep coming back to the basic, clear, teaching: You’re in the body of Christ? You obey your leaders and submit to them. Period. The second thing I think is, “Yikes! I’m a leader!” I’m immediately wide-eyed with the reality that in the role the Lord has me, I lead. I teach. I am called to point people faithfully to Jesus. The thought that the church is called to “obey and submit” is an uneasy one for me on these two counts. Proverbs 23:26 comes right to my mind: “My son, give me your heart and let your eyes observe my ways.” As a mom, a teacher, and now a pastor, this verse has been at the heart of my ministries at home and at work. My desire is to reach the heart of my son, my students, and those I lead in ministry but more than that, that I would have ways worthy of observing. That nothing I would do would distract someone from the gospel – that nothing I would do would stumble someone looking to me. I take seriously and with great fear the admonition in James that “not many of you should become teachers...for those who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” Wow and again, Yikes! In this closing exhortation, the author makes an important call not only to his church, but to the church today. There are two qualifiers – First, these are leaders who are teaching a Jesus-centered Word of God. Secondly, those who obey and submit need make it a joyful experience for their leaders. I think we’ve lost this in the church today – especially in the non-denominational, So-Cal, chill-church mindset. We have no room in our theology for anyone else to be in charge except ourselves...well, Jesus sure, but mostly me-myself-and I call the shots. Think about your approach to church life and how you respond to your leaders...do you respect your leaders and submit to their decisions or are you resisting decisions and pouty about changes? Are your personal preferences taking priority over the gospel mission led by the leaders? If you are at a church with leaders who are faithful to the gospel, are you obeying and submitting or dishonoring and resisting? Are you facilitating an environment where your leaders can lead joyfully? Or are your attitudes causing them to grumble and groan under that burden? Wherever your heart is in this, at the very least you can be praying for your leaders today. Take a page from this letter to the Hebrews of the early church and add it to your notebook today. Pray for me as I continue to teach and lead, and pray for one another, that our churches would be ones of biblical obedience and submission.