Readings for today: 1 Chronicles 27-29, Psalm 68
I firmly believe true, godly leadership involves great sacrifice. When a person accepts the call to lead God’s people, they are accepting a call to give themselves up for the sake of others. Lay down their lives for the sake of God’s family. They are called to model their leadership after that of Jesus who “did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.”
David models sacrificial leadership in the reading for today. He has already declared he “will not give to the Lord that which costs him nothing.” (1 Chronicles 21:24) And here at the end of his life, he makes good on that promise. He gives all his personal wealth to help in the construction of the Temple. He spends his final years mobilizing God’s people and stockpiling materials to set his son Solomon up well. He donates “3,000 talents (about 113 tons) of gold—all from Ophir, the best—and 7,000 talents (214 tons) of silver for covering the walls of the buildings, and for the gold and silver work by craftsmen and artisans.” (1 Chronicles 29:4-5a MSG) He holds nothing back. Keeps nothing for himself. And then he challenges God’s people to follow his example. “Now then, who will follow my example and give offerings to the Lord today?” (1 Chronicles 29:5b NLT)
As the pastor of a local church, I try to follow David’s example as he seeks to follow Christ. I do my best to make the first sacrifice. When I first came to the church I serve, they were going through financial hardship. Before I got any kind of raise or negotiated a fair, market-rate salary for my position, I made sure the church took care of the other members of our staff. When COVID hit and so many in our community faced job insecurity, I refused to take any kind of raise while we navigated that season. When I started taking my trips to Africa, I made sure I paid for them so the burden wouldn’t fall on the church. (Full disclosure: we’ve since added a second trip that the church does pay for since the Petros Network is a mission partner.) The point here is not to promote myself but to give examples of sacrifices I believe leaders have to make if they are to set the example for God’s people. The same was true when we launched our building campaign a few years back to retire debt and develop our counseling center. My wife and I were among the very first to pledge above and beyond what we already gave to the church. Every year, we push ourselves to grow in generosity as we seek to follow Christ faithfully in all we have. What is true in our finances is also true when it comes to our time and unique talents. We have gladly and joyfully given our lives to our church family because we believe sacrifice is essential to godly leadership.
What about you? What does such sacrifice look like in your life? Where are you laying down your life for your spouse or children? For your family and friends? For those you work with or for or among? For your brothers and sisters in Christ?
1 Chronicles 29:1-5 MSG
Readings for tomorrow: None