“And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.'” – Numbers 20:12
Even the most godly of leaders can go astray at times! Rather than humbly following God’s instructions, Moses and Aaron unleashed their human anger, drawing attention and glory away from God and to themselves. Rather than speak to the rock to miraculously release water in a way that pointed the Israelites to God as their provider, they preached, rebuked, and struck the rock, focusing the crowd’s attention on themselves and their powers. That isn’t the behavior of godly leaders!
It might seem to us a subtle thing, but it wasn’t to God! God holds leaders accountable for the responsibility He has entrusted to them. Godly leaders must be consistently pointing people toward the Lord rather than themselves. Godly leaders must allow themselves to diminish as the people’s vision for the Living God increases. Godly leaders must be content in their relationship with the Lord rather than the adulation of human beings.
There is a humility and gentleness grounded in Christ that should characterize even the most influential godly leaders. If there isn’t, those leaders need to repent and their followers should hold them accountable, for God surely will!