Leviticus 22
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the sacred gifts that the Israelites set apart for me, so they do not bring shame on my holy name. I am the Lord.”
v.31-32
“You must faithfully keep all my commands by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord. Do not bring shame on my holy name, for I will display my holiness among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who makes you Holy.”
Today I am thinking about my role as a pastor and as I think about my pastoral responsibilities before God and the congregation I have the privilege to serve, I think of “integrity.”
As a pastor, it is so important that I exercise care in how I live out the calling of God in my life. It is said of King David in Psalm 78:72 “And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.”
As I reflect on that passage in Leviticus, God is very clear (in the book) on the regulations of worship, that is, offering sacrifices and living out life. Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10) are said to have offered “strange” (unauthorized) fire to the Lord and they were dealt with a swift death by God.
The chapters that follow spell out the need for purity, cleanliness, holiness and faithfulness in following God’s Word.
God then reminds Moses that Aaron and his sons need to exercise the priesthood with great care.
As a Christ follower I believe it is so important for each of us to walk “worthily” (Eph. 4) the calling that God has placed us in. We need to walk “circumspectly” (carefully) as we live out our lives for Christ.
There is so much to be said on this – but I’ll just say as a Christ follower, It is important that I know my high calling as a Christian and that I exercise care in living out this life.. I should be careful in where I go, what I do, what I say, what I feel and how I think.
Back to being a pastor, it is extremely critical that I exercise great care in this office and that I lead my family and flock with skillful hands and integrity in my heart.
Too many Christian leaders (no names mentioned less I fall into this too) have not exercised such due diligence to the high calling of God. While we must not be stuffy, aloof, hoity-toity, distant leaders, we really need to guard our hearts, continue to sharpen our skills and keep our eyes up on the calling and prize of God.
I pray as you read this that you will commit yourself to guarding your heart and developing skillful serving hands knowing the high calling God has in your life.
