Lesson 14: Ye shall be a peculiar treasure

Lesson 14 this week is, to me, a lesson about all of us as followers. It's about strengthening ourselves as followers, so that our leaders can be strengthened to lead properly.

Many of us have felt that moment: you get asked to do something that you know is way over your head. Maybe it's nursery leader, maybe it's young women's president. Maybe it's the bishopric. You don't feel ready. You feel inadequate and undersized. You know you, and you know your inadequacies. You know your sins and weaknesses - certainly someone else has a better resume than you. Right? But you also understand that the person providing the call to you is a representative of the Lord.

Yes, you're inadequate for that job or calling. Of course you are. That's fine though - the Lord makes up the difference if we'll let him.

credit: teachingthem.com

The same is true of Moses. One of the greatest prophets ever, was he inadequate for the job? Absolutely, and the Lord knew that, was fine with that, and worked with that. A passage in Exodus 17:8-13 describes how two men, who we could think of perhaps as counselors, or perhaps simply as members of the church, helped Moses do what Moses couldn't by himself. He had a staff to hold up, and as long as it was up, Moses' fighting men prevailed. The problem is that no man can hold that up all day long - it's humanly impossible, even for a legend like Moses. But if he lowered it, his men would die and his army began to lose the battle. It had to be up.

The answer? Get two strong men around Moses to help him lift. They didn't and couldn't take Moses' burden from him, but they helped him lift.

This goes me back to moments in my life when I heard someone say that the bishop was not up to the job, or that someone else was doing it wrong. Was the complainer right? Technically yes, perhaps. But they were so wrong. You make a leader strong not by complaining about his inability to carry the staff, but by lifting him or her, and easing their load. Love and service, not griping and complaining.

The Israelites did this at another time as well. Moses had just gotten them through the red sea. Is this enough to have them revere him as a man of God and treasured leader forever? Nope. Was it enough that the Lord fed them for free? Nope. Manna, quail and water weren't enough. They apparently wanted pizza. Can't the Lord that makes manna happen send down pizza occasionally? And on Saturdays, can't we get maybe some nice sushi? If it's all the same to the Lord, we're bored of manna! Oh - and if it's pizza, not Little Caesar's. We want pizza hut.

But Moses and the Lord wouldn't do that. This kind of reminds me of people following Christ, not because they recognized him as the Savior of their soul, but because he came with free food. And when the free food stops being tasty enough, our gratitude for it wanes, and we demand more.

This reminds me of politics. We as a human race haven't changed that much. We're a bunch of takers - still.

So now, without pizza on the menu, the Israelites start complaining about Moses. You can imagine the signs and posters: "Where's the beef?!", "No pizza, no respect!", "No sushi, no sunday!"

credit: wikimedia

The Lord called them a peculiar treasure. They are peculiar all right. Treasure? Only the Lord can see that. I just see demanding and annoying. I guess I don't have the Lord's viewpoint. It's good he loves them. I'm sure I annoy him as well - often.

This of course isn't a reflection on Moses - he is what he is. It's a reflection on those who call themselves God's chosen people. They prove their lesser-ness. They add to the weight their leader must carry.

If our leaders are imperfect, if they are flagging, it's time to step in. Not to complain, but to love, lift, and serve. We can't take their calling from them, but we can lovingly assist. In this way, we can build ourselves so that our own load is easier to carry.

We can be a lighthouse, not only to those who are less than in some way, but to everyone. To those who have bigger callings and heavier loads, we can also reflect God's light. May we do so.