Judge your leaders by how well they teach and live God's Word.
Leaders get more recognition, but nothing would get done without faithful followers.
When we get to heaven, we'll see many "behind-the-scene" followers rewarded for their kingdom work. See Second-Class Gifts.
But following can also get us into trouble.
Aaron did fine when he followed his godly brother Moses (Exodus 4:12-16). But he messed up big-time when he followed the idolatrous crowd in the golden calf incident (Exodus 32:1-4). And he blew it when he joined Miriam's jealous rebellion against Moses (Numbers 12).*
Scripture says, "Bad company corrupts good character" (1 Corinthians 15:33). That's why we need to evaluate the character of those we follow. And even when we follow godly leaders, we need to check their decisions with Scripture.
The Bible is our most important resource for knowing what pleases Christ (Ephesians 5:8-17).
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* When Aaron followed the ungodly crowd: See Scripture Records This Ridiculous Lie.
When Aaron followed Miriam's lead: Scripture doesn't specifically say Miriam was the leader. God rebuked both her and Aaron, but He punished Miriam. This fact and the fact that Aaron had followed bad advice in the past leads me to believe he was following Miriam's lead in this situation. To read more background on this situation, see Miriam Didn't Finish Well.
Would you like to do a Bite Size Bible Study on this devotion and see two additional scriptural examples of good and bad following? You can do that HERE.
I encourage you to check out the Wisdom for Life Devotional. It contains 100 one-minute devotions to challenge, encourage, instruct, and inspire your love for God's Word: Wisdom for Life. Read the story behind Wisdom for Life HERE. And find out about the two free Bible studies with purchase HERE. You can read the first four devotions in the book by clicking "look inside" on Lifeway or Amazon.
Bible Love Notes
This is a very good point.
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