Read with Me
Hebrews 13:17 (HCSB)
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
Listen with Me
God set up a simple hierarchy in the Church because leaderless people quickly go astray. At the beginning, the apostles led the church in Jerusalem. But as the Church spread out across the world, a different structure was needed.
The hierarchy in the beginning was simply elders (or overseers or bishops in some traditions) and deacons, with the elders in charge of caring for and teaching the people, and the deacons overseeing the ministries of the Church, especially ministries to the needy. And each of these leaders in the Church was directly accountable to God for faithfully doing the work to which they have been called.
The criteria for filling these positions were laid out early in Church history, and Paul even included them in his pastoral epistles (1 Timothy 3:1-15, 5:17-22; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; Titus 1:5-9). They were high standards because the nurture and care of eternal souls was in their hands.
The writer of Hebrews urges his readers, therefore, to honor and obey those who had been placed in those positions of authority and responsibility. The reasoning is interesting. These workers have no option but to obey the calling of God on their lives, to oversee and nurture the souls of those in the Church. And, if the people under their care are obedient and kind, then their work is a joy. But if those they are charged with caring for are disobedient and unkind, then their calling quickly becomes a drudgery, making them feel trapped instead of blessed, because to step away from their office would be disobedience to God, the one who had called them to do it.
In the Church we are each our brother’s keeper, and it flows both ways. Not only are the clergy accountable to God for carrying out their ministry to oversee the souls of the laity, but the laity are also accountable to God for their obedience and submission to those to whom God has given authority in the Church and for encouraging their hearts rather than making themselves a challenge.
Pray with Me
Father, thank you for this insight. We often see the clergy being responsible for the care and nurture of the souls in their congregation, and accountable to You for the job they do. But we rarely see the laity as responsible for how they submit to the authority of the elders and accountable to You for being an encouragement rather than a discouragement to them. Lord, help us all to fulfill the calling You have placed on our lives and the roles You have given us to fulfill in Your church, so that Your name is glorified and so that Your mission moves forward. Amen.