Not Every Great Guy Does Well

He was a great guy! 

The world is full of great guys. They're usually found hanging out (or lying about) in funeral parlors or cemeteries. Wouldn't we all like to know that, when we're gone, we are fondly remembered; that we made a positive difference in another's life? Of course, we would. But is that our goal, or are we striving to hear the words, Well done, good and faithful servant, when we arrive before the King of Heaven's throne? Those two things may not be mutually exclusive every time, but on occasion, they just might be.

In Jeremiah 40:7-16, we are told of a man named Gedaliah. Most of the people of Judah had been carried off by the Chaldeans to live in Babylon, far away from their holy city of Jerusalem and God's temple. 

Short version: They'd rejected God and His standards for proper worship, why did they care if His city and His temple were taken from them? But they did, and they were sad.

However, God (via the Chaldeans) allowed some people to remain in Jerusalem, and the Babylonian king appointed a governor from among Israel, Gedaliah. Gedaliah concurred with all God (through Jeremiah) had spoken regarding this remnant. He told the people:

Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. As for me, I will indeed dwell at Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans who come to us. But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken. (vv. 9, 10)

And the people listened! In fact, some who had originally fled, returned to Jerusalem and began to live their lives. Things appeared to be going pretty well, BUT there was a fly (or several flies) in the ointment. For whatever reason, a man named Ishmael and some of his powerful friends hatched a plot to get rid of Gedaliah.

Now, Gedaliah had a friend or two as well, and several of them attempted to warn him of the conspiracy. Gedaliah refused to believe it. Johanan, one of the governor's allies, even took him aside privately and offered to do away with Ishmael, pleading with him on behalf of the people in his care. If you're dead, what will happen to them? (paraphrase mine) But, again, Gedaliah refused to listen. Jeremiah 41, delivers the answer: Gedaliah was murdered and many of those under him taken captive or murdered as well.

From all appearances, Gedaliah was a great guy. He sided with Jeremiah, God's prophet. He encouraged the people and obeyed authority. No one would risk life and limb to expose an assassination plot --even offering to murder the perpetrator --for a terrible guy. But Gedaliah had a problem: he refused to believe the worst of Ishmael, and his lack of discernment became the problem of everyone under his governance. Was it pride? No one could possibly want to off me! Look at the great job I'm doing! Was it naiveté? We have such an intimate group remaining in Jerusalem; I know each one personally. They're such hard workers and kind people. None would ever betray another. Was it myopia? Did he trust the words of hope delivered by Jeremiah without actually trusting the God who authored them, putting his faith in the promise rather than the Promise Keeper? And that's where I'm going to pause.

I've spoken before of Dorothy Sayers' take on the old saying, The road to hell is paved with good intentions. If you've missed it, she says we often assume that refers to undertakings intended but never completed; but she believes it applies to those things we conceive and work diligently toward which then become an end unto itself. We start out wanting to help or speak truth or think the best of others --to be a great guy!, but our efforts become our life's blood, the thing that keeps us in the race no matter how many times God has told us to rest. We ignore His cautions to stop because this is our work, and not His. The work has discarded the very goal (or people) it was meant to serve, and we have lost sight of the forest for the trees.

Prayer is our weapon against spiritual myopia. Especially those of us engaged in leadership, service, teaching, evangelism, parenting --okay, for every believer. It is the way we confess before God our deepest fears, our greatest weaknesses --not that He is unaware, but that we have become aware of our needs and the only One who can meet them. Whatever you undertake today, the simplest bits of life, commit them to the Lord in prayer and seek His leadership in them. You may not be one of those great guys, but you will have done well.