Category: “The Need for Followership” series

Stumbling Humbly

adbLeave a comment

(Mark 9:30-37)

When it comes to following Jesus, we like to imagine our path is a pretty smooth and straight forward one. Like long distance runners in an olympic race, making their way around the track who knows how many times, once the race sets in the runners tend to fall in line, one after the other, behind the leader who sets the pace lap after lap. For the most part the race is uneventful until perhaps the end when runners jockey for that first place position ahead of the finish line.

However, it is much more likely that our race looks like the hurdler whose foot barely caught the hurdle just enough for him to stumble to the ground. He gets up to finish the race, but as he does, his noticeable limp and slower pace hamper him the rest of the way. He still finishes, but not in the form he had hoped or trained for for so long.

Following Jesus is not the smooth, perfectly paced race any of us would like to imagine ourselves having. It’s a stumble here and a fall there – sometimes even wandering off the track until we’re coached back on! Ironically, the very thing that blinds us to seeing how messy our race is as we follow Jesus is also one of the greatest causes of our messy race: our pride. In fact, pride isn’t interested in following anyone, but presumes that we ought to be the ones in the lead and everyone else ought to be following us! That’s why we struggle mightily with pride; it is never content to follow, but always thinks it should be out in front. 

Isn’t that really what happens when two people go back and forth over whether or not something was said? Rather than one person killing that foolishness with a simple, “I thought I had mentioned it, but I may be wrong, sorry,” or “You may have said it and I was distracted or just missed it, sorry,” neither side backs down, because pride insists on being out in front.

Isn’t pride also what really leads to political arguments? It’s not really about the candidate at all. Much more important is letting the other side know that their stupidity is responsible for their “wrong” vote and my superiority is to account for my “right” vote.

Pride has another nasty side. It is also pride that can debilitate me with worry or anxiety over everyone’s opinion of me. I become so convinced in my own head that everyone else must have thoughts or opinions about me all the time, instead of realizing I’m actually not even on their radar. And isn’t it pride that also results in depression? Even if I may legitimately be the victim of something hurtful, I remain in that role and convince myself that no one likes me and everyone is against me, and I always draw the short straw, making sure that my focus the whole time is on… me. 

That’s what pride does! It’s so self-absorbed that all of this talk of following anyone else, even Jesus, is utter nonsense to the natural pride-filled self. But if God can open our eyes to see what a stumbling mess our lives are, then maybe we could learn to follow him more humbly.

In Mark 9, God does just that. As we see ourselves in the disciples, our hope is that we learn from Jesus’ lesson to them. May Jesus’ humble service to and for us start to be reflected more and more through us as we follow him! 

Two incidents in the verses from Mark show how much room we have to grow. First, note that the disciples didn’t ask for more clarification when Jesus prophesied his death and resurrection. Imagine how different the Easter narrative might have been if they had!

If they had taken the time to ask Jesus to spell it out for them so they could understand exactly what he was telling them, the first Easter Sunday would have taken an entirely different tone. In place of uncertainty and fear and confusion, the believers might have been filled with excited expectation, anticipation, and pure elation. “Yes, it was a bitter pill to see the Savior die, but it had to happen just as he said it would, and now we can’t wait to see him again in just three days!” If they had had that kind of Easter understanding, how different the celebration of Easter would be in our day!

But why didn’t that ever happen? Because they were too proud. They lacked humility. As you read Mark, it may not sound like that initially, but let’s dig a little deeper. After Jesus had predicted his death and resurrection for them, Mark explained, “But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it” (v.32).

Sounds pretty harmless and totally relatable. We’ve all been there. We don’t want to look dumb by asking a foolish question. We don’t get something, we don’t understand it, but rather than seeking out greater understanding, we remain ignorant. Students do this in the classroom. Grownups do it in the workplace. We don’t fully grasp something, but we fail to ask about it out of a fear of looking stupid.

While we’re inclined to sympathize for the person in that situation, what’s really the underlying issue? What are we really saying when we admit that we’re afraid of looking stupid or foolish? We’re saying, “That would hurt my pride, so I’d rather not do that. I am more concerned about other people’s opinion of me than I am about seeking clarification or understanding. I can’t very well have others thinking less of me, because that would wound my pride too much. I think too much of myself to let others think less of me.”

Then, to take it to another level, remember that it’s Jesus – omniscient Jesus, all-knowing Jesus – in the picture. The disciples weren’t going to fool him! He knows thoughts and what is in the heart, so in refraining from asking for understanding, they couldn’t hide anything – including their pride – from Jesus.

The disciples’ lack of humility revealed itself again immediately following that incident. When they got to where they were staying, Jesus asked them, “‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest” (v.33-34). Jesus’ question was like that of the father interrogating the child he already knows is guilty. He wasn’t looking for information as much as a confession, an admission of wrongdoing. The most shocking part? “They kept quiet…”

Can you imagine Jesus asking you a question and… not answering?!? That’s hard enough to do to a teacher, a parent, or a boss, but to not respond when the Son of God asks you a question?!? Whoa! What could possibly cause these faithful followers to clam up and close their lips when Jesus Christ asked them a question? 

Guilt. Guilt sewed their lips shut. And what was the cause of their guilt? “…because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest” (v.34). The other Gospels provide us with some details about the subject matter surrounding their “who’s the greatest” debate. But we also know they were just on the Mt. of Transfiguration, so the three from Jesus’ inner circle – Peter, James, and John – certainly must have had a leg up on the competition, at least in their own minds. And even when we’re told the other disciples took issue with their arguing over who was the greatest, their concern only revealed a lack of humility, for each one of them surely thought he deserved to be a part of such a debate! 

What mattered more than their pride-puffing resumes, however, was bursting their bubble and teaching them that followers of Jesus value humility over pride.

But before we sit in on Jesus’ teaching on humility, let’s recall why humility is such a big deal in God’s eyes in the life of the Christian as he follows Jesus. It is more than a noble virtue to pursue. It is not just another way for the Christian to let his light shine in a world overpopulated with pride. No, humility is big in God’s book because our whole relationship with him is based on it. 

Without humility, there can be no submission to God. Where humility is absent, so is the willingness to listen to and apply the Word of God. Where pride reigns supreme, it views Jesus not as Lord or Master, but as servant. Where pride is present, I call the shots and expect God to operate according to my plans and purposes, and should he choose not to, then my pride has no time for him. Pride remains blind to everything God has done for me because it refuses to see my need for it.

Now then, knowing that Jesus was fully aware of his disciples’ pride as well as our own, do you see the grace that is seeping through the words Jesus spoke? He said, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise” (v.31). Jesus knew their pride and ours. It was not hidden from him.

Yet it changed nothing. The plan did not change because of man’s pride that would potentially disregard the very sacrifice and resurrection Jesus predicted; rather pride was exactly why the plan stayed the same!

Pride – our pride – was precisely why the Son of man had to be handed over, tortured, and murdered. Our pride needed to be pinned to the cross and paid for. So Jesus did that for us. Jesus, knowing the hearts and minds of men who think they know better than the heart and mind of God, still died. In Jesus Christ, God, whose perfection alone would justify pride, traded it willingly for perfect humility, putting himself beneath every insubordinate sinner, to offer salvation for all people.

That sacrificial act of holy humility changes us. It changes how we follow Jesus. So we eagerly want to hear what Jesus has to say about humility.

To teach that point, Jesus used a little kid. Jesus explained, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me” (v.35-37). If we are to understand Jesus’ point, we have to let go of our society’s modern-day view of children that elevates the role of the child to what amounts to being the head of the household. Many parents today are more concerned about catering to their children than they are about parenting them.

In Jesus’ day, children were viewed quite differently. They were another mouth to feed and a body to clothe. Children were viewed as a liability, not an asset. So Jesus was essentially telling the disciples that humility was looking up to those on whom society looked down. It was putting self lower than those we naturally tend to place ourselves over. Humility was not “me first,” but “you first.”

See your followership of Jesus the way it really is and not as you pretend it to be. It’s messy. We’re going to stumble more often than not. But rather than trying to hide it or cover it up, embrace it as the humble reminder of how much we all need Jesus. Then, leaving our pride more and more in the rearview mirror, let’s stumble humbly as we continue to follow Jesus together. 

Are You Waging a Winnable War?

adbLeave a comment

(Ephesians 6:10-18)

A few years ago a movie came out that was based on a true story. The movie, Operation Mincemeat (2021), focused on the allied effort of a team trying to convince the Germans of a fake location where the allied invasion would take place. The group concocted a plan to dress up a corpse as a soldier who would be staged to wash ashore and be discovered by the Germans, carrying what would be bogus plans of a fake invasion. If the Germans were to fall for the deception, they would be forced to allocate a considerable portion of their army and resources to the false front, thereby cutting back on the amount of resistance the allies would face at the real point of invasion. The plans for misdirection and deception were intended to give the allies an upper hand over their enemies.

Similar tactics are very effectively still pulled off in war today. Many battles are lost because of it. Many die as a result – all because of misdirection and deception. One side is convincing the other to prepare to fight a battle on a fake front, which is nothing but a distraction from the real war.

And you know, don’t you, because of the verses from Ephesians, that I am not referring to the war between Russia and Ukraine, or ongoing hostilities between Israel and Palestine, or any potential conflict involving China. I am referring to a battle that has much more at stake – the battle for souls. And, so that we don’t lose sight of the gravity of the situation, let’s be more specific: the battle for your soul. And Satan will attempt to pull off any strategy he can to win.

When we talk about all this spiritual warfare stuff, it’s rather easy for us to focus our attention on lost souls and be convinced that the battle is really about them. But do you think that’s where the primary focus of the enemy’s strategy is? Put yourself in his shoes as the tactician fighting this battle for souls. Where do you direct the bulk of your resources? Are they going to go toward the lost souls already being held in the concentration camp of unbelief? No! You’ve already got them! It doesn’t require the same amount of resources to keep them contained in unbelief as it does to go after the believing souls you’re trying to kill or capture. 

So the bulk of the Satan’s resources aren’t being directed at unbelievers, who are already his, but at you, believer, the one he is determined to make his. And, if you want to make his job easier, Paul provides a battle plan for you to ignore to help ensure your spiritual downfall. If you want to help the enemy, Satan, win, simply ignore Paul’s advice in these three ways: Rely on your own strength. Pass up God’s protection. Fight the wrong enemy. If you can just do those three things, Satan will gladly count you as an ally.

The first part of Paul’s battle plan Satan wants you to ignore is in verse 10. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Set that aside and disregard it, because an ally of Satan doesn’t need the Lord’s help. You’ve got this on your own. You’re good to go. After all, check out our resume, right?

As we look back over the course of our lives and consider our win/loss record against temptation, we imagine ourselves to have a pretty solid record. When we trust in ourselves and in our mighty power, temptation doesn’t stand a chance, does it? We simply determine not to do that ever again. We tell ourselves this is going to be the last time we sin that sin, and just like that, we’ve conquered it. We resolve to do the right thing when in a similar situation next time, and to hold our tongue and filter what comes out, and once we make the decision to do these things, it’s as good as done, right? Because we don’t need the Lord or his mighty power when we’ve got more than enough of our own mighty power…

Honestly, that’s hard to even type with a straight face! When we rely on our own power to overcome temptation or to make progress in our lives of sanctification, the only thing we get better at… is lying to ourselves. We acquire spiritual amnesia and lose track of how many times we’ve already told ourselves “never again” to that sin. We drum up an imaginary win/loss record that pretends we have far more wins than losses. No, when we rely on ourselves, we only get better at lying and we ultimately lose. 

Remember the same guy that wrote these words from Ephesians is the guy that opened up about this very struggle in the seventh chapter of his letter to the Romans. When he relied on himself, even though he knew what he was supposed to do, he couldn’t, and what he knew he was supposed to avoid, he couldn’t. That’s what happens when we rely on ourselves. So to keep Satan’s job easy, rely on your own strength. 

Second, in addition to relying on your own strength, make sure you ignore more of Paul’s battle plan from Ephesians by passing up God’s protection. “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (v.11). It’s quite a list of armor with which Paul follows these words, isn’t it? But you know what? I bet all of that gear for spiritual warfare is probably pretty heavy to be carrying around all the time, so you’re likely better off without it! And never mind the fact that Paul repeats his encouragement to put on the armor right before he lists it all for us, as if to emphasize how important it is.

I mean, really, does anyone even know what Paul’s talking about with all of this spiritual armor stuff? How does one actually even wear a belt of truth or breastplate of righteousness? A shield of faith? A helmet of salvation? The sword of the Spirit? This all sounds nice and poetic for a spiritual picture, but what real, practical good could any of this do, assuming we could ever even figure out exactly what Paul is talking about?

Nah – who needs to read the Bible regularly when you know it as well as you do? Who needs to go to church when you’ve got the service pattern down so well that you can pretty much anticipate what’s going to be said before it’s even spoken? When you know the teachings of the Bible so well, who needs to carry all of that armor unnecessarily into a conversation with someone who is well-versed in challenging your Christian faith? And, when your faith is already an issue for an unbelieving spouse or family member, the last thing you want to do is offend them by lugging around a bunch of spiritual armor that’s only going to make them feel more uncomfortable and awkward. Besides, surely you know the basics well enough and better than they do. Yes, just keep Satan’s job easy and pass up God’s protection.     

Third and finally, Satan really appreciates it when you exert the bulk of your energy fighting the wrong enemy. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (v.12). Forget the spiritual war that is going on beneath the surface and be sure to just focus on the flesh and blood individuals, organizations, or parties that are the real enemies.

After all, the spiritual decay of our country is not nearly as big a an issue as who is in the White House. Putting down the opinionated celebrity who has brainwashed so many followers should really be our number one job. Your constant fighting and bickering with the same individual? That isn’t really a spiritual issue as much as it is a personality conflict. And, if we can just wake up the woke, we can win the war.

As if we weren’t already making his job easy enough as it is by relying on our own strength and passing up the protection God provides, let’s essentially hand Satan the victory by focusing on fighting the wrong enemy. 

Dear friends, please understand the seriousness of what is at stake. Anyone ignoring any combination of those three approaches is not waging a winnable war. To put it more bluntly, you will lose. Not maybe. Not possibly. Not a slim chance of loss. No, you will lose the war that is being waged right now and tomorrow and the next day. And what is at stake is your soul. 

Would it help if I listed by name some of the casualties who have lost that war? Not the name of someone who knows someone who knows someone else. Not statistics from other churches more willing to compromise on the Bible’s teachings. No, I mean the names of individuals who have in the same seats you sit in on a Sunday morning. Individuals who at one time confessed both their sins and their faith in Jesus. Individuals who at one time beamed brightly in the joy of their salvation right here in your midst. Individuals who heard the same stuff you do week in and week out. Individuals who have since been lost, because they weren’t waging a winnable war.

At some point they began to rely on their own strength, passed up God’s protection, or focused on the wrong enemy, and Satan captured them. They are now POWs in his camp, and if nothing changes, that’s where they will remain for eternity. That isn’t a scare tactic. That’s the reality of the war going on right now. That’s how serious it is.

So when a sister in Christ cares enough about you and your spiritual battle to check in on you when you’ve been absent from worship, don’t blow her off. When your pastor reaches out to you to personally invite you to Bible study, don’t keep coming up with a new excuse each week of why it won’t work this week, but pretend that next week should work better. When we talk about the blessing of personal daily devotions, make an effort to make it work, and stick with it when you fall short. When there’s an opportunity to use your unique gifts in a meaningful way to serve your church family, jump at it, so that it might serve to remind you that none of us is waging this war alone. We have each other, the body of Christ.

Most importantly, we have Christ himself.

And if there is one thing we never want to forget, let it be this: in him we have already won. In him we have the victory. The prophet Isaiah promised it would come. “The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies” (Is. 42:13). The Lord WILL triumph!

I won’t ruin Operation Mincemeat by telling you if the Germans fell for it or not. If you haven’t already, you can watch it and find out for yourself.

But one ending that is never in question, never uncertain, is the victory we have in Jesus. What Isaiah promised, Jesus provided through his life, death, and resurrection. “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57). The war has been won! Do not be deceived by Satan. Do not allow him to convince you to jump ship from the winning side to the side that already lost. Are you waging a winnable war? You are when you follow the Victor who already won the war for you. 

Power with Purpose

adbLeave a comment

(Mark 7:31-37)

While there may be a variety of different qualities that followers look for in leaders, one thing that leaders have in common is that they hold some measure of power. The exercise of power can be demonstrated in different ways. It can refer to the heavy influence or sway a leader has over his followers, like a cult leader, for example. That is a different kind of power than that which comes from one’s access to and command over military might and weapons. Nations can rise or fall on the basis of this kind of power. Power is also associated with the authority that allows its bearer to implement decisions or determine direction for groups. The CEO of a company has more power than the new hire sharing a cubicle with other employees in one of many departments within that company. In some capacity, leaders have power.

What that power is used for depends on the leader. The cult leader, for example, does not have a favorable track record for using his power in a positive way. A leader with military power could go either way, coming to the aid of nations being wrongly attacked or defending his own nation with that power, or he could abuse that power and be the one wrongly attacking others. The CEO in that position of power can turn around a failing company or be the reason a thriving company falls apart. How a leader’s power is managed, for good or bad, depends on the leader. 

Followers of Jesus during his life here on earth saw his power. And they saw Jesus use his power for good. If you were there with Jesus to witness the event described in the verses from Mark 7, there is no room for debate over whether Jesus used his power for the man’s good. When a man who couldn’t speak or hear can suddenly do both, that’s a good thing. “At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly” (v.35). Even those present recognized Jesus used his power for a good purpose. “People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak’” (v.37).  

This lines up with most of the miracles of Jesus recorded for us in the Bible. He used his power for good. The small contingent who might have disagreed would have been the Pharisees, especially when Jesus had the audacity to heal on the Sabbath. But as we saw in the previous post, the issue they had was not really with Jesus, but with their own hearts.

As we look at this miracle and the miracles of Jesus in general, we want to make sure we also understand the purpose of this power. What role did miracles play? Why was Jesus able to perform them? Why did he choose to? Understanding the right answers to questions like these determines whether or not we’re following Jesus for the right reasons.

We also have to factor in something else: our own attraction to power. After all, followers are drawn to leaders with power for different reasons. As much as we like to imagine our reasons being altruistic and noble, that isn’t always the case. There is value in being connected to those with power: they can do things for us. We want to be in good standing with the powerful because it could help our cause or work out in our favor one way or another. 

Why does all of this make a difference in our role as followers of Jesus? It has everything to do with our expectations of him and whether or not those will be met. It is what determines Jesus’ role in my life as well as my relationship with him. If you are drawn to Jesus today because of his power to heal or bless or turn a person’s life around, your followership may very well be short-lived. Why? Because what Jesus chose to do in someone else’s life he may not choose to repeat in yours. 

The sickness that he is able to heal? He may not heal it. The relationship that he is able to mend? He may not mend it. The job that he is able to provide? He may not provide it. The wrong against us that he could right? He may not right it. 

And if we’re not ready for that, our world might be rocked to when Jesus doesn’t direct his power to fix our lives in the way we expect him to. And it’s never because he’s incapable of doing it; but he may choose not to for reasons we could never know. 

Do you wonder if, at the scene of any of Jesus’ miracles recorded for us in Scripture, there were other individuals with the same physical limitation, the same sickness, the same chronic pain… who weren’t healed? Jesus didn’t heal, cure, or alleviate the aches and pains of all people, in every situation. Therefore, it’s not just possible, but probable that when Jesus did perform miracles, there were others present who didn’t get to experience his power working the same miracle in their lives. 

Ouch! That realization stings a bit. It’s one thing to stand in awe of the amazing miracles he did perform, but when we consider all of the additional miracles that could have happened but didn’t, it might shift our view of Jesus slightly. That’s why it matters that we rightly understand the purpose behind his power. 

What’s more, if I am following Jesus with a misunderstanding of the purpose of his power, I am also likely to lead others to him for the wrong reasons. This doesn’t just happen on an individual basis, but can happen in churches and ministries, too. When the main emphasis is on wealth and wellness or healing or even manifestations of the Spirit’s work, others are being drawn to the wrong purpose behind Jesus’ power.

Yes, he can do all those things, and may choose to, but I have no authority on my own, nor any promise from Scripture, that permits me to guarantee to others how God will choose to act on their behalf. When we assure others of wealth or wellness, healing or some special manifestation of the Holy Spirit, we have crossed the line and, regardless of our intentions, have become false teachers. We are making assurances that we have no business making. We are speaking with an authority we do not have.

So what is the right reason to follow Jesus and the power he has? His miraculous power to heal was just the tip of the iceberg. We rightly grasp the purpose of Jesus’ power by holding on to the cross. As much as Jesus’ miracles highlighted his power and revealed his compassion and care for the sick and suffering, he had his sights set on something far superior: your salvation.

Jesus came to play the long game. While he could certainly wield his mighty power in ways that would increase our quality of life for several decades on earth, what good would that really be if that was all the time he could spend with us, and after those decades, the sentence for our sin would set in, and we would be cut off from him for the rest of eternity in hell because of it? No, Jesus wanted more than just a few good years or decades with us on earth while making everything hunky dory for us; he wanted to never to have to turn away from the crown of his creation.

For that reason, he wanted the power of his miracles to draw our attention to him so that we could see something far more powerful. His perfect life lived in the place of sinners. His innocent crucifixion died in the place of sinners. His resurrection, raised for the eternal life of sinners. Those powerful realities stand out on their own above everything else simply because of their monumental nature! But, what makes them even more powerful is that their impact reaches out to and counts for every sinner who has ever lived. 

Everyone. Regardless of the size of the sin. Regardless of the frequency of the sin. Regardless of the powerful damage any sin may have caused. Regardless of your sin and my sin. Hands down, the absolute greatest exercise of Jesus’ power is that he definitively delivered us from hell and declares us to be forgiven and perfectly pure in his sight.

So as impressive as any of his powerful miracles were, they served only as attention grabbers so that no one would miss out on the real show of power on the cross, where our Savior willingly gave himself for sinners, forgiving our sins and claiming us as his own forever. For that reason, nothing must ever distract from or conceal the cross. Ever.

That may help us understand why Jesus said what he did after he performed this miracle. “Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone” (v.36). When power comes into the picture, as was pointed out earlier, we are selfishly drawn to it for the wrong reasons initially. We are too easily concerned with what it can do for us here and now. Jesus knew that the more people heard about his jaw-dropping miracles, the more people would come to him in search of jaw-dropping miracles. And that desire for the jaw-dropping miracles that were all temporary and worldly would for many cloud the greater miracles that are eternal and heavenly: the miracles of forgiveness, of salvation, of eternal life. These realities could come only by the power of the cross. May we never forget or forsake its powerful purpose.

Stop Following Your Heart

adbLeave a comment

(Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)

Strong leadership is always going to be extremely valuable. Prior to COVID, an estimated $370 billion was spent on leadership training. Successful companies include leadership training in their annual budgets, and for good reason. It has been estimated that the ROI for leadership training is $7 for every $1 spent. Strong leadership can often be the difference between an organization flourishing or floundering. 

Companies and organizations aren’t the only entities who value strong leaders; so does God. Throughout history, God has raised up strong leaders to guide and direct his people and to oversee his church. Joseph’s leadership skills saw him rise to being the second most powerful man in all of Egypt, which God used to bless Joseph’s family and the establishment of his chosen people, the Israelites. God used Moses’ leadership skills to confidently challenge Pharaoh face to face and to navigate the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and journey to the Promised Land. David’s leadership skills showed themselves in war and in worship as God used him to rule over his people. Paul’s leadership skills in relentlessly sowing the seeds of the gospel through his mission trips and church planting could not be questioned. God has always raised up strong leaders to serve his people. And each of those strong leaders also share another quality that had as much to do with their successful leadership as anything else: they were exceptional followers.

While leadership is valued tremendously in the world, not as much is made about the importance of following well. In Christ’s church, however, it is essential. In fact, with Jesus Christ as our Savior-leader, the head of his church, a case could be made that the church never has a leadership problem as much as she has a followership issue. Where the church struggles or stumbles, it is not a lack of leadership or direction – our Good Shepherd provides that. Rather, it is a lack of faithful following or downright foolish following on the part of the sheep (and those leading the sheep). So as we work through this series, The Need for Followership, with the Lord himself as our leader, we pray for the Spirit to raise us up as strong followers.

If we are to grow in our capacity as followers, the church is a great place to start, because the world’s track record when it comes to equipping people to follow is rather poor. I base this conclusion on what is some of the worst – and sadly most widespread – advice that’s out there: just follow your heart. This is bad advice for a number of reasons; here are three of them.

First, it’s emotionally driven. It’s feelings-based. Now feelings aren’t bad, but making decisions based on them is unwise. Why? Because they change. Every one of us here has experienced the regret of having done or said something in the heat of the moment that was entirely emotionally driven. Later, when we weren’t as emotionally charged, we found ourselves having to do damage control for a situation that would have never gotten out of hand if we had not let our emotions get the better of us. So “just follow your heart” is bad advice because being emotionally healthy means managing your emotions rather than letting them manage you and your decisions.

The second reason “just follow your heart” is bad advice is because it’s driven by selfishness. True, while the decision you are likely struggling to make primarily affects you, it almost never only affects you. People belonging to God realize that we are here to love and serve our neighbors. That means we give consideration to how our decisions affect our neighbors. We don’t just dismiss or disregard others in making decisions, but like Jesus, consider the needs of others even before ourselves. So “just follow your heart” is also bad advice because it doesn’t take into account how my decision may affect others, what serves the common good, or what my neighbor needs from me (side note: ironically, as we lament the lack of social concern and compassion for others in out society, is it any wonder where this is coming from when we encourage everyone to follow their own heart and do what is best for themselves?).

The final reason “just follow your heart” is bad advice is that your heart is a horrible navigation system! There are plenty of navigation apps out there: Google, Apple, Waze, and others. We all have the one we like for a number of personal reasons. But I can bet you this: no one would keep using a navigation app that gave them the wrong directions 100% of the time. To keep relying on that source for direction or guidance would be foolish! 

In his interaction with the Pharisees from Mark 7, Jesus seeks to show them how misguided the heart is as a navigation system. Jesus peels away their outer veneer of venerability and exposes the real issue.

The Pharisees always serve as a good reminder for us of what happens when religion becomes a platform for performance. They had a reputation for adhering to rules and fancied themselves so good at it that they made up extra ones, a good number of which were traditions handed down from previous generations. Having become so wrapped up in themselves and enamored with each other’s daily displays of righteousness, they would immediately recognize when other supposedly religious folks dropped the ball in observing this custom or that rule. 

So when the disciples, dared to eat food without ceremoniously washing beforehand, the Pharisees jumped all over it. They were caught red-handed! Their hands were defiled! How dare they! Eating with your hands and not ceremoniously cleaning them first was a big no-no in their book.

Not out of compassion or caring concern, but because they were interested in discrediting Jesus as a respected rabbi by pointing out what a disgrace his disciples were, they called Jesus out. “So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” (v.5).

Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees gets to the root of the issue. Look at the source of their concern. They did not reference the Law or the Prophets – the Word of God available to them in their day – but rather “the traditions of the elders.” Their man-made rules carried more weight than the God-given words of Scripture.

Jesus responded quite differently, not referencing man-made traditions, but highlighting the Word of God by quoting one of its prophets. “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules’” (vs. 6-7). They had come to Jesus convinced that his disciples were in the wrong, but Jesus would make sure they didn’t depart without knowing how wrong they were. Jesus showed them something they needed to see. The issue was not the outward failures of his disciples, but the inward flaw in their own hearts. 

In quoting Isaiah, Jesus also has something to say to us. How does one honor God with lips while hearts drift far away from him? That’s what happens when we are going through the motions. Two people can both show up on a Sunday morning, and one is there to pay lip service to God while the other is there, longing to be served by God and to praise God from a heart of faith. I can do the things God calls me to do as mere obligation rather than opportunity to love, serve, and thank him. I can render my service begrudgingly because no one else will do it or I can render my service gratefully because I get to do it. I can support gospel ministry with my offerings because I am supposed to do so or because I am blessed to do so. All of those things can be done in the same exact way by two people and they may look identical externally. But God sees what’s going on internally, and it’s a Cain-and-Able-type difference! Hearts are in drastically different places!

The awareness that Jesus sought to bring to the Pharisees is the same awareness that we need today. We so naturally gravitate toward the outward stuff, too. Outwardly, we can compare our highlight reels with the everyone else’s lows or bad days. That keeps us feeling pretty good about ourselves. That keeps us convinced we’re above average, doing better than most. That puts us… right where the Pharisees were. So we need not the traditions of men, but the Word of God, to direct us to the real issue. 

And Jesus does just that. “For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come…” (v.21). Jesus’ words challenge our narrative that the evil in this world, and even that of which I am guilty, is a product of my surroundings. It’s “out there.” It’s someone else’s fault. It’s simply my response to the real issue, which is always some outward occurrence. My upbringing is to blame. The workplace environment is at fault. However we choose to spin it, Jesus stops the wheel, jams his index finger right into our chest and bluntly states, “Wrong. Your heart is the source of evil. It isn’t out there; it’s in here. That’s the problem.”

Ouch! There isn’t a more painful reality or realization than what Jesus reveals to us here: we are the problem! Our hearts are far from whole or holy, but instead are filled with holes, defiled and deficient, and incapable of the true holiness that God requires.

How did the Pharisees and teachers of the law response to Jesus’ charged accusations? They didn’t like the message so the planned to get rid of the Messenger. They rejected his words, rejected his teachings, and set their wicked hearts on getting rid of the One who exposed them. 

But grace moves us in a different direction. The confidence of faith, which beckons us to repentance, follows the encouragement given in the book of Hebrews: “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” (10:22). We own our sins, confess them, and return to God again and again in repentance, completely confident that he has cleansed our hearts of evil. Having purified them and made them holy, he gives us new hearts that cannot get enough of Jesus and long to love and serve him and follow him in faith.

That heart is not naturally found in any of us. Rather, it is graciously given through faith in Jesus. The apostle Peter said it like this: “God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them… for he purified their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:8-9).

“Just follow your heart” is good advice… to avoid at all times. Here is much better advice: follow Jesus’ heart for you. Amen.