Wednesday-Fingerprints

not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

1 Peter 5:3

We all have fingerprints. They are as unique as we are. Just watch any show where someone is trying to find someone, and fingerprints are the first thing people turn to. If they find a dead body, they use their fingerprints to find out who they are.

And while our fingerprints may not be left behind by the way we live, our words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes do tell a story about who we are. What’s motivating us to do what we do.

Just this past weekend we were celebrating a significant achievement by a friend. There was even a small party for friends and family to remember their accomplishments. It was a lot of fun to see so many people getting together in support of my friend.

That is, until someone started talking. Actually, it was more than talking, it was loud talking. The only thing they could talk about was themselves. In their mind, they were so much more important than everyone else. They went on and on about the big and important things they’ve done. How their accomplishments made them head and shoulders above everyone else.

Slowly at first, but everyone started moving away from this guy. There wasn’t an announcement or text message, but everyone naturally felt uncomfortable and just wanted to get out of there. Even though I knew this guy, and was a casual friend, I completely understood how they felt.

As I sat there and took this all in, I had a few thoughts. First of all, I felt sorry for my friend who was supposed to be the reason we got together. And then I felt really sorry for the guy who was going on and on about themselves. I wondered, who hurt them? What things have happened in their lives to make them this way? So insecure that they needed to knock everyone else to the ground just to make them feel better about themselves.

Peter is giving us a very strong warning about leadership within the Christian community. Yes, we need shepherds to lead, teach, and direct the local meetings of Christians. But there’s a wrong way. and the right way to do it.

• Wrong. Shepherds within the church of Jesus Christ are not to act like “lords” to other believers. Yes, there’s a right time and place for godly correction and discipline. And when it’s done with loving strength to restore people, it’s a beautiful thing. There’s no room for high-handed bullies or dictators when it comes to the shepherds for God’s people.

• Right. Instead of forcing people to do things through rules and power, God’s shepherds are to be living examples. As these shepherds live like Jesus did in front of a watching world, they will not be just as a little bit different. They will be wildly different from what most normal people experience. Jesus is to be the one and only example for shepherds to God’s people.

I’m not proud of it, but there have been times when I acted more like a lord and nothing like the Lord Jesus. Someone said something and I just lost it. As I think back, their words did exactly what they were intended to do. They hurt in a way that’s hard to describe. And instead of listening to their hurt, I let them hurt me. And I lashed back.

So, how can we be become shepherds that imitate Jesus? What steps can we take to more and more become leaders that follow Jesus’ leadership style? Here are four specific steps that we can take to become a shepherd like Jesus.

1. Servant. Even though Jesus was God from eternity past, he still lived life as a servant. He had every right to demand blind obedience, but he wanted people to follow him because he first lived us. We need to live lives of service to the people we serve.

2. Compassion. Jesus listened with an attitude to understand. He knows that we are just dust and are weak people. But he also didn’t want us just to stay where we are. When he called people to follow him, he started from right where they were.

3. Humility. If there wasn’t anything to low that Jesus wouldn’t do, shouldn’t we do the same? Washing feet was normally reserved for the lowest of the low. And yet, Jesus volunteered to do it for the people who were about to betray and abandon him.

4. Truth. While Jesus was 100% dedicated to the truth, he didn’t use it to bully people to do what he said. Because God’s word is truth, he used the Bible to explain who God was and how to come back to our Heavenly Father. Truth is to be our friend, not a stick to beat people over the head with.

Since Jesus has been nothing but patient and understanding with us, we need to treat people like he’s treated us. This is especially true for people who are shepherds within his family. His fingerprints of lovingkindness and paying the debt that we could not pay should be all over us and how we treat people. Our words and actions as shepherds need Jesus’ fingerprints on them too.

Noodling Questions

• How do you feel when someone takes over the conversation? Describe.

• Which of the four steps are easiest? Hardest? Explain.

• How does God’s patience with us infect and change us?