There are two Extremes to the human attitude toward a sup port system. One is absolute dependency on a “leader” figure and the other is total reliance on oneself.
Reliance on a leader in Judges
During the period of the judges, we see an example of using strong leaders as a prop. “And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way” (Jdg. 2:18-19).
The tragedy of cults is another example of the danger of this extreme. Within recent years we have seen fanatical cult leaders directing their pathetically misguided flocks into mass suicides.
Excessive self–confidence
At the other end of the spectrum is the possibility of over self-confidence. No doubt for this reason, the apostle Paul was subjected to a major handicap, “Lest I should be exalted above measure…” (II Cor. 12:7). Also Jacob, after he prevailed over the angel, suffered the hollow of his thigh being disjointed (Gen. 32:25) as a permanent reminder that the power of God is stronger than any human achievement.
Balance desirable
In between these two extremes is the position we suggest is the most rewarding — that is, using available props to bring us “unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” as Paul puts it in Ephesians 4:13.
Saul used Samuel as a prop
The danger of being dependent on external props is illustrated by Saul in his dependence on Samuel. The unstable king relied on the prophet to such an extent that when he died, Saul desperately wanted him back to life. Today’s reading in the first book of Samuel shows the final episode in the demise of the people’s choice of a king.
In chapter 26, David spared Saul’s life for a second time and chided Abner, the captain of Saul’s army, for being an ineffective guard. We read: “As the Lord liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the Lord’s anointed” (I Sam. 26:16). Saul became aware of this and heard David’s impassioned plea: “The king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.” Saul sheepishly confessed, “I have sinned,” but he does not extend the confession to its logical conclusion, “against the Lord” In contrast, David’s rejoinder mentions the name of the Lord three times in verses 23 and 24.
Previously, after Samuel exposed Saul’s failure to annihilate the Amalekites, Saul also limited his confession to, “I have sinned” (I Sam 15 24) Why was Saul so reticent to say “against the Lord”? Even when Samuel pointed out to Saul the cause of his disobedience, the desperate king begged Samuel to remain with him In verse 30 we read “I have sinned yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God”
What a pathetic and shocking situation for the king of God’s nation, he was not able to personally approach God He totally depended on the prophet, instead of learning through the ministry of the prophet’s instruction to develop in his personal knowledge of his God.
The word of God as a prop
Our primary prop should be God’s word, constantly internalized into our minds that we will not be shaken, tossed to and fro or eventually plucked up because of shallow roots Psalm 119 expresses the mind of David “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken thou me m thy way Through thy precepts I get understanding therefore I hate every false way” (vs 11,37,104)
Today’s external props
Many incorporate a lot of external features into their church life They ordain holy days, festivals and special observances in their religious calendar Although attending only on these special days, some view these observances as comprising a sufficient religious experience.
External props reach a fine tuning in the wearing of religious charms, placing a Bible underneath pillows and in figurines representing Mary or Jesus set up m the home as an altar-like corner of worship Many believe that prayer and worship are only appropriate in their “church” building which, in their minds is tantamount to holy ground, forgetting that “the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands” (Acts 7 48).
Israel relied on the external props
God’s chosen people of Old Testament times were provided with a wonderful temple, designed to divine specifications and built by Solomon, but it failed to produce the kind of people for which the Lord was search-mg In fact, charges brought by their children, the Jews of Christ’s day, against him and his servant Stephen reflect their love of the building itself (the prop) rather than what it was supposed to teach them.
At the Lord’s trial one of the false witnesses deviously misquoted the Master “This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days” Some years later other false witnesses lashed out against the faithful Stephen with the outrageous accusation “This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law” Jewish religion had been reduced to honoring the physical temple and its rituals while it ironically put to death the servants of God who constituted the living temple of the Lord, “In whom all the building (the saints) fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the spirit” (Eph. 2:21,22).
The deceptive attraction of physical props — the temple and its furnishings and the self-righteous pretensions of the hypocritical priesthood — was too much for carnally minded people to resist. Jesus told the Pharisees, “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men” (Luke 16:15). The religious leaders found fault with the disciples for not keeping the “tradition of the elders” (Mark 7:3). Israel’s false shepherds wanted the praise of men just as Saul did: “Yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel…” (I Sam. 15:30).
How we can have the problem
It is possible that we in the Truth can also succumb to the flesh in this regard. Recording brethren may be faced with the perception their role is so vital that the ecclesia can fall into disarray if they relocate. This problem can be a residual attitude brought along from the “church” system where the minister/priest is perceived as lord. So long as we focus on Jesus as our Lord and Master, we need not rely on man or any man-made custom to serve as a prop upon which we become dependent in our walk in the Truth.
Therefore, “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One