God in His wisdom gave us the freedom to choose, and with that freedom comes an entire world of possibilities; universes stemming out from time lines formed and re-formed by the paths that we take and the decisions that we make. In the ideal situation, and especially for members of the Church, every decision should be influenced by and based on the Word of God and His teachings. Unfortunately, people will sometimes stumble. Like for example, Ananias and his wife Sapphira. They cheated on their love offering for the church, knowingly and with malice aforethought, and even lied about it afterwards. They died right after being caught in their sins.
This might sound very dramatic, as indeed it is, but it does establish, quite simply and with very little other embellishment, the following insight:
When we compromise on our faith, the consequences are dire.
This is an unavoidable fact. Having our eyes opened to the truth, even thinking of going against what we already know in our hearts to be true and good should already have the alarms sounding off in our heads and danger signs flashing in our minds. This is especially true for those in a position of leadership. God does not take his appointments lightly. Leaders are enabled by God, and anointed with the Holy Spirit, and they stand in front of the people as God’s representatives, pillars of the community and so on and so forth. So when leaders stumble, people surrounding them are given a reason to pause and think.
Of course the opposite is true as well. Leaders are in a position to be good examples of how it is to best serve the Lord.
Prayer
Father, give me a heart that is true to Your Word always, always praising and never complaining. Widen my understanding of our mission so that I will accept whatever it is that you put before me, and never question your teachings. May I find reason to rejoice in my sufferings, and count it as being found worthy of being called your follower.