Press the arrow to listen to Kari Jobe sing “Pure” while reading today’s devotion.

Scripture
He said to him, “I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water ‘” But he lied to him. 1 Kings 13:18

Observation
The old prophet heard of a young prophet preaching in his territory, and he was threatened. So he invited the young prophet to his home for dinner. It would be a long and leisurely conversation with the aim of slowing the young man down.

The king had not heard the word of the Lord, because the old prophet had not spoken. So God sent in someone from the outside to speak. The old prophet was so accustomed to mixing his words with God’s word that it was not trouble for him to tell the young novice truth as lie. The result for the young prophet was tragic. He became a one sermon wonder.

One of the traps awaiting a young leader is an old leader whose life has been filled with compromise. Iron may sharpen iron, but dead wood only dulls.  The old man’s half-heartedness cost the young man his life.

Application
Not all leaders weather well. I remember once being invited by an old pastor with whitened hair to preach on Sunday and to share lunch with his wife that afternoon. While we prayed together before the service, I kept having the thought the man was an adulterer. I shook off the thought thinking, “But he’s a kindly old man with decades of fruitful service.” Over lunch he sighed and said, “Ministry is necessary only because of the fall of Adam. Were it not for him, every man would be a priest of his own home. But because of his fall I must take care of the families of others.” I was young but disturbed. Something seemed askew in what he said.  I wasn’t in ministry because of failure but with hope of success. I made a note to myself that I did not want to become pessimistic about ministry like him when I grew old. A year later the city paper paraded the old preacher’s story; not only was he an adulterer, but one twice over with two mistresses. He was trying to slow me down to his pace to comfort his own compromise.

There are half-hearted men along life’s way who are threatened by whole-hearted devotion to Christ. A young leader must learn to keep on walking to where God has him next to be. There are reasons why God gives commands, even when they are odd enough to cause us to walk home without dinner. If that young man had gone home hungry, God might have filled him with a message that could have become the 40th book of the Old Testament.

Prayer
Father, help me to deflect the discouragement of cynical leaders who have let their failures become their high water marks. Keep me walking on. Amen.