“Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
~ Hebrews 13:17
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you like to be seen as a leader? Do you like it when kids follow your lead? Do you think that it is harder to be a leader or to be a follower? How do you think that a guy, gal or kid becomes a leader? Do you think that you can be a leader if you have never been a follower? What does it mean to you to be a follower? What are your grandmaa and grandpaa called in the Bible? Your grandmaa and grandpaa – along with every other Christ-follower guy, gal and kid, are called sheep. Sheep are not very smart animals. Sheep need to be led to places where they can eat grass and drink water. Your grandpaa needs to trust guys to lead him. A guy, gal or kid trusting in another guy, gal or kid to lead him or her is not easy to do. As kids grow older, most kids will have different opportunities to lead. If you are when you get big put into leadership positions, how would you like to have the guys, gals and kids who you are leading treat you? Hebrews 13 is the last chapter in the Hebrews Book. Hebrew guys, gals and kids are Jews or God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids. The writer of the Hebrews letter wrote his letter while he was in Italy. The writer of the Hebrews letter knew Timothy but he does not mention Paul. The writer of the Hebrews letter seems to be a recognized or well-known Jewish leader who is writing to Jews who had become Christ-followers. The Hebrews Book author – in the last chapter in his letter to Hebrews who had become Christ-followers, is wanting to help these guys, gals and kids live a Christ-follower life. Is a good leader to you a guy, gal or kid who tells other guys, gals and kids what to do or is a good leader to you a guy, gal or kid who helps other guys, gals and kids to do what they want to do? The Hebrews Book author wants to help guys and gals to do something better. For your grandpaa to be seen as a good leader, your grandpaa knows that he needs to be first seen as a good follower. For your grandpaa to be seen as a good follower, your grandpaa must learn to do what the Hebrews Book author wrote in verse 17 “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
What do you think will happen to your grandpaa if your grandpaa does not obey the leaders who God has put in place to lead him? It scares your grandpaa to think about what might happen to him if your grandpaa does not listen to or obey the guys who God has put in place as leaders to lead him. What do you think will happen if your grandpaa – as a leader, reads this verse to the guys and gals who your grandpaa is leading? Your grandpaa knows from experience that to read this verse to the guys and gals who your grandpaa is leading to try to get the guys and gals to listen to him and do what your grandpaa wants them to do does not work. Your grandpaa has learned from experience that your grandpaa must learn to first listen to the guys and gals who he is leading before your grandpaa will be seen as their leader. Your grandpaa has learned from experience that leading is not telling guys and gals what to do. Are you okay with other kids telling you what to do or would you rather be the one telling other kids what to do? Do you like it when your dad and/or ma tells you what to do? Do you like it when your dad and/or ma listens to you? A dad is to be the leader in his home. Your grandpaa is to be the leader in his home. Your grandpaa is at this time the leader of a group of expatriate and host country missionaries in Guatemala. Your grandpaa is responsible for the actions of each expatriate and host country missionary that he is leading. One of the first times that your grandpaa was asked to help lead was in Bolivia. Your grandpaa was asked – along with two other guys, to lead the Bolivia South America Mission (SAM) field missionary team while the appointed Field Director and his wife were in the United States on a yearlong furlough break. Your grandpaa and the other two guys who were asked to be the field leaders while the Field Director was in the United States were asked to be responsible for different things. A night curfew was in place when the Field Director left for the United States. Guys, gals and kids could not be outside their homes on the streets after a certain time at night. One of the single guys on the SAM Bolivia field missionary team was from Peru. Your grandpaa was asked to help this young Peruvian – Fernando Basquez, with his ministries. Your grandpaa heard that Fernando was doing things that he should not be doing but the guy who was asked to be responsible for Fernando as a missionary unit would not do anything because he thought that because Fernando was an adult that Fernando could do what he wanted to do. No one knows what happened the night that Fernando had a motorcycle accident. Fernando was on his motorcycle after curfew. Fernando had been in a bar or a discotheque – a place where a missionary should not frequent. Fernando was going around one of the circles that are everywhere in Santa Cruz – maybe being chased by police, when he may have clipped the circle’s curb causing the motorcycle that he was using to . . . resulting in Fernando being very seriously injured. The night after Fernando was critically hurt your grandpaa stayed the entire night at the hospital where Fernando was taken. Fernando did not know that your grandpaa was there. When Fernando had his accident with the motorcycle that he was using, Fernando broke some bones. Fernando also banged his head hard enough on something that he remained unconscious for weeks. Fernando is alive today but . . . Fernando today does not act much older than a nine year old kid.
Your grandpaa believes that all guys, gal and kids are ascribed to be followers – not leaders. Your grandpaa believes that a guy, gal or kid will suffer a consequence if he or she does not obey his or her God ordained leaders.
Hebrews 13 (149)