The massive fires in Los Angeles have revealed failed policies that have hampered firefighters’ duties. Those called to protect and serve have not been able to fully protect and serve their community in its time of need. The same can be true within the Church. Those in positions of decision-making authority need to be in touch with spiritual realities.
If we lower the standards for police officers and firefighters, and reduce their budget, when we need them the most, they will not be able to perform their duties fully. The hindrances to their ability to protect and serve happen because compromised leaders and their policies put people’s lives and property at risk. The same is true in our faith. If we lower the standards of truth for those who lead the Church, the same thing will happen in spiritual matters.
I would rather have a tough and no-nonsense cop or a strong and proven firefighter respond to my emergency than someone who slipped under a lowered bar of standards and was put in place by a false interpretation of reality. Emergencies require a strong and immediate response. When a real emergency arrives, political appointments and their resulting policies will reveal a painful reality when lives and property are in jeopardy.
In the Church, I want to have a pastor who is strong enough in their faith to speak the truth in love, no matter how tough the truth sounds. The other option is to follow a compromised leader who has abandoned the truth and asks us to believe an illusion.
This happens in a marriage when one spouse lovingly and, in a straightforward matter, confronts the sin of their spouse addressing something that could eventually destroy their relationship. All emergencies, natural and spiritual, are time-sensitive. Delaying a proper and timely response endangers people.
When danger appears, we don’t need people with emotional or spiritual deficiencies to lead us who attempt to skirt reality and common sense by inviting us to join in their fantasies. The cost of real-life dangers is too high when foolish people are in positions of authority and allow their pride and self-importance to lead the charge. All of the choices made by such people will fall apart when we are engulfed in an emergency.
“Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).
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