A Balance of Power

"The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord." Isaiah 11:2

The text I am working with this week in Isaiah begins by telling us that a new king will be coming and then goes on the describe this king in the words listed above.

As a pastor, I am by no means a king... a shoot of Jesse... a savior to my people. But I love the pairings that describe this king's rule and they seem appropriate for pastoral leadership as well. Actually, they seem appropriate for all of us. And I think it is how they go together that is so important.

It is not enough to be wise... to think deeply or have all the right things to say... you must also have understanding. I can't prove that this is what it means in the Hebrew text, but it seems to mean that wisdom can in some ways be an abstract idea, it is something that at times sounds lofty or distant. Understanding, however, seems to be rooted, connected to the world around us. We must be wise without ever losing touch with people and the reality of their circumstances. Wisdom must be connected with care for and love for people.

It is not enough to recognize your power as a leader... pastor's do have some power by virtue of their position, their training, their calling. But that power must always be tempered by counsel, by a willingness to listen to others. I would argue that we must believe that the Spirit is moving through the congregation and we must be attentive to that as leaders. Otherwise we abuse our power.

It is not enough to have knowledge. We can read all the books we want. We can learn Greek and Hebrew. We can know theology and history and memorize every key text in the Bible... but if we do not fear the Lord, if we do not believe that God is a living being that we are in relationship with, if we do not understand God as both loving and Holy, then our knowledge is empty and useless.

And I don't think this is a word just for pastors... I think it applies to parents, spouses, friends, supervisors... maybe all of us. Because these ways of being... wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, and fear of the Lord... they are not just for a few, but the gift of God to all people through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.