Just Following Orders Sir!

Throughout history in the military and even in the modern business corporation of today there are leaders and there are followers.  A hierarchical system can be good and can be bad.  Too many leaders and strategy becomes confused and in-fighting can begin.  Too many followers and no leaders and nothing will get decided.  If you have a bad leader, you will make bad decisions, hurt people, lose the war or lose profits.  Followers that only follow and never add to the process can easily be disposed of.  They add no value to the troupe, team or company.  Such is the case of the Nazis.  Many of the followers, men in the lower ranks of the military, will tell you they only did as they were commanded.  Some of them didn’t even like what was going on, but they didn’t want to say anything out of fear losing their lives or losing their positions.  They chose themselves over others who had done nothing wrong.  The opposite is also true.  If you have a good leader and good followers, much can be accomplished for the greater good.  Wise decisions will be made by the leader and good followers will carry the decisions through to completion.

Read Numbers 22: 35 – 24:25.  Who is the real leader?  Who is the follower?  What is encouraging that you can find from this part of Balaam’s story?  This encouraging point is found in several places in this passage.  The real leader is God.  He is the only true and good leader there is.  There is no better one to follow.  Balaam was having a little trouble following God wholeheartedly in the beginning of his story as we read in previous days, but by the end we see he figured out whose commands to obediently follow without question.  Now for encouragement, re-read Numbers 23: 18 – 20.

¹⁸ Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak, get up and listen; son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say! ¹⁹ God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill? ²⁰ I have indeed received a command to bless; since He has blessed, I cannot change it.

No matter what mistakes leaders or followers might make on this earth, God is the supreme leader and commander.  He is in control.  He makes and keeps His promises.  He blesses who and what He wants to bless.  No man, demon or devil can interfere with God’s plans.  Balak thought he could get what he wanted, but found out he could not defeat God’s plans for the people of Israel.  So don’t fear, if man or circumstance or evil principalities come against you.  God has promised to care for you and protect you the best way He sees fit.  He will fulfill His promises to you.  You just need to remember that He is your leader and you should want to obediently fulfill His commands, ever so much more than an earthly soldier fulfills his commander’s orders.

Wise Moms Pass the Torch

There are many things that we receive from our moms.  They pass down special bits of wisdom and advice to us.  They teach us how to do things.  They warn us about the dangers in life, from playing with BB guns to cheating on tests to not marrying the right person.  The wisdom of a mom is best seen when she passes down the torch of faith in God.  What better love and guidance could a mom give a child then to lead them to Jesus who will far better provide and take care of the child? 

Especially today, we see many moms leaving it up to their kids to decide if they want to go to church.  They will even let them chose which religion.  Worse yet, they let them go out in to the world of myriad of faiths and let them try to determine what is true and false.  Then there are others that let the child chose activities such as little league over church on Sundays.  These moms think that a child will naturally find their way to what is right or that every road leads to Heaven.  They think if they raise their child to be the best person they can be that that is all that is really important.  This is the furthest from the truth.  A child has no earthly or spiritual wisdom.  They are young and uninformed.  Anyone could tell them what they think is right and they would believe them.  It’s up to moms to protect, lead and guide the child until they are old enough to know better.

 One great example is found in II Timothy 1:5 -

 “…clearly recalling your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois, then in your mother Eunice, and that I am convinced is in you also.”

Both Timothy’s grandmother and mother had passed on the torch.  As a result a child grew in to a fighter for the faith, a preacher, a leader in God’s church.  If they had just accepted Christ, but didn’t share, where would Timothy be?  I can think of two such examples of Christian moms who did not teach their child about their faith.  One felt the child would grow up and figure it out.  That child has grown up and still does not know Jesus as their personal Savior.  Another child was allowed to go to whatever religious school or church they chose.  The child was in a variety of denominations due to relative’s church’s and local area ministries.  Eventually that child stumbled in to faith in Jesus in a Biblically founded denomination and is now a minister.  The minimal guidance the second mom provided help set the child on a right path, but with a little more regular guidance the child wouldn’t have taken years and a variety of churches to come to the faith.

As Christian mom, true wisdom would be to make every effort to pass the torch of your faith in God on to your child.  Protect and guide the child in love to Jesus.  Don’t leave them to the world and its ruler.

Thank you to all the Christian moms who have passed the torch.  Keep up the great work for the Lord!