4. Inattention to “Small Things” (Because You Are Focused on “Big Things”)
Goggin and Strobel write,
The word that came to Jeremiah was, ‘Do not seek great things for thyself.” … We should just get out of the business of seeking great things. Now, if we do that, then we will be more observant of the small things. … We will begin to care about the people around us. They are the neighbors God told us to love. You can’t do that if you are in a hurry [to accomplish great things]. (154)
This is probably my greatest temptation in ministry. I am always eager to rush ahead, trying get to the “next thing.” That impatience might look impressive to others (and it may feel great when I’m “accomplishing” things), but it leaves hurting people by the wayside.
Now, a brief caveat. Be necessity, someone has to be focused on the big picture. There will be lead pastors and organizational CEOs and seminary presidents. And we need those people. But there is a world of difference between rushing to those positions because they are “big” and occupying those positions with a spirit of foot-washing.
5. Distance From People in the Flock
If you are no longer in the ministry out of love for people, you’ve left the lamb and embraced the dragon. That doesn’t mean every minute of your work week has to be face-to-face with people. Our tendency, though, is to remove ourselves, incrementally, from difficult situations and difficult people. But a shepherd that doesn’t smell a little stinky—like his sheep—isn’t doing his job.
If you have a talent for leading large, do it well to the glory of God. Your leadership is a way to serve. But never, never, never lose your connection to people. If even the earliest apostles were bringing meals to widows (cf. Acts 6), then it is certainly not above you to be in the nitty-gritty of people’s lives.
6. Annoyance With People
We get frustrated, as Goggin and Strobel write, because
God did not make others as I would have made them. [But] God did not give them to me so that I could dominate and control them, but so that I might find the Creator by means of them. Now other people, in the freedom with which they were created, become an occasion for me to rejoice, whereas before they were only a nuisance and trouble for me. God does not want me to mold others into the image that seems good to me, that is, into my own image. (117)
Ouch.
Rather than seeing people as created by God, to be loved as such—and placed into my life to sanctify me!—we tend to see them only as tools to benefit our mission.
This reminds me of the story of Shimei (2 Samuel 16:5-13). Shimei was an enemy of King David, and while David was on the run, Shimei took the opportunity to publicly shame him and curse him. David’s gung-ho military man, Abishai, wanted to stop Shimei’s tongue by removing his head. But David told him to refrain. Perhaps, David said, even this cursing fool has a word for the Lord for me. If there are Shimei’s in my life, I want to hear the correction God may have even through them.
