1 Chronicles 24:3-5
3 With the help of Zadok, a descendant of Eleazar, and Ahimelech, a descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for their appointed order of ministering. 4 A larger number of leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than among Ithamar’s, and they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of families from Eleazar’s descendants and eight heads of families from Ithamar’s descendants. 5 They divided them impartially by drawing lots, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.
In this selection, David, Zadok (one of his high priests), and Ahimelech (the son of his other high priest) go about dividing up the duties of priesthood between the “sons of Aaron” (Moses’ brother, selected as high priest of Israel back when Moses led them).
Note that this division of ministering duties is not accompanied with a verse describing how the priests whined and cried about not getting the job they wanted. Neither are the descendants of Ithamar grumbling and rabble-rousing about not getting as many leadership positions for their families. Instead, everybody takes their appointed job with no recorded hint of trouble.
If only modern Christian churches could divide labor and appoint people like this. Unfortunately, these days we Christians can come down with serious cases of hurt pride (or sometimes inflated pride that gets suddenly deflated), and before you know it, a church squabble has started. We all want to serve the Lord, but some want to serve Him very loudly and very publicly, and get praise for themselves in the process.
Churches have to work together to combat this. The members must be unafraid to voice their (tactful) opinions, and the leaders must listen and make impartial decisions based on what is best for all members, not just what will please one or two “influential” people. After all, every member wants a genuine worship experience; why not work together to make sure that happens? Being willing to serve God, even if we serve Him in ways we didn’t expect or in ways that don’t get recognition, should be our motivation.
Very true.. kind of like praying. Some people want to be all flowery in the way they pray, and make sure everyone hears them, and others pray straight to the heart of God. Things don’t have to be BIG to make you look good, just sincere, and hopefully with Godly intentions.
“Clicks” (don’t know about the spelling there) don’t belong in churches either. To work together and effectively, we must try to be for all, not just a few select. This can also cause hurt feelings and division in churches.
Thanks for this post Robin.
Excellent point, Joanne! Little tight-knit groups within a church can also start splitting it from the inside, especially if pride and manipulative tactics come into play. Controlling that all-too-human factor seems to be all about balancing our humanity and our fragile feelings with our worship and our common love of God… 🙂