Scripture:
Leviticus 4:22-24 ESV
[22] “When a leader sins, doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by the commandments of the Lord his God ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, [23] or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without blemish, [24] and shall lay his hand on the head of the goat and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord; it is a sin offering.
Observation:
The first thing that I would like to point out about this particular set of verses is the absence of the word if however, the presence of the word is unintentional. I think these are things that we should pay attention to. We have been given a set of laws ( the 10 commandments ) and they were put in place for a reason. But before I get into that the other thing I want to put out there is the fact that the Scripture says when a leader sin. The book of Leviticus up to this point is about a sacrificial system. As a way to atone for our sins, the law was put in place so that we would have a way to identify sin. It was made clear at the beginning of the Bible that sin brings death and this sacrificial system is proof of that. At that time it was the way to keep HIS people from being heavy with guilt.
Application:
The point that I want to make out of all this is we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of GOD. Not one of us should place ourselves or someone else on a pedestal. Leaders sin. This is not to give leaders a pass on sin, because I believe as a leader it’s important to be aware that people are watching. I think the keyword here is unintentional. If we are just going around doing what we want… That’s more like living without boundaries. However, if we have made a profession of faith we need to be intentional about the way we live. That’s not to say we are not going to make mistakes. That’s why I believe that our father put the word unintentionally in the scripture here. GOD has created us to live with purpose. So let’s recap this here. We all fall short, GOD has made a way (JESUS CHRIST) but let’s be intentional about how we live. Because when we knowingly sin we are trying to nail Jesus back to the cross saying what HE did the first time was not good enough. HE was the sacrifice to end the sacrificial system. Let us not put people on a pedestal, because when they fall it hurts both of them.
Prayer:
Father, you see the beginning from the end. Standing outside of time you know every mistake we will ever make and you have made Jesus Christ the way. Father, we thank you for that and we thank you for your plan. We pray that we are careful about how we live let us be mindful of you meditating on who you are and what your word has spoken to our hearts. You are GOD and you are good. You want what is best for us. If you have placed us in a position of leadership let us walk worthy of that calling. Living intentionally for your glory. Let others who see us as leaders see us as humans. Not allowing provision for the flesh, yet knowing that all have sinned. The only one who walked blamelessly we nailed to a cross, and we thank you for that sacrifice because it allows us to walk with intention. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus that I pray amen.