Thanks for persevering! Numbers chapter 14.
So the Israelites we're supposed to be getting prepared to go into battle in the Promise Land before them. But what turned out to be a time of preparation and excitement turned into total disarray amongst all the people because of 10 leaders who spoke negativity amongst the group. The people rebelled first against God and second against Moses and Aaron and Caleb and Joshua. But God intervened and punished the people for their lack of faith and rebellion. The leaders that spoke negativity amongst the people were killed by God's plague. God removed the negative leaders.
When you are called into a Ministry and you know God has called you, you have a certain excitement about it. You get excited about what you believe God can do through the ministry, but if one person begins to speak badly about it amongst the group, soon others will follow suit. Especially if the negative person is a leader or respected amongst the people.
When we first came to this one church as the new youth pastor, we had small groups that met on Wednesday nights. It was a nice group of teens coming together. Three of the teens were constantly negative and complaining because we didn't do things like the youth pastor before us. That's very common. However it got so bad, the rest of the group threatened to quit coming because of negativity was wearing them down. After my confrontation with the three, 2 of them had a changed heart but one didn't. Eventually, I had to isolate the student from the group for the sake of the group. The negativity was destroying our spiritual environment and was preventing spiritual growth.
Negativity amongst a group has to be confronted in love and dealt with. If it works, great, but if it doesn't, then in a respectful loving manner, and for the sake of the group's spiritual development, the negative person needs to be removed from the group. Eventually I ended up isolating the third person. The person was a senior and so I encouraged her to attend a senior Bible group. After the removal, it changed the whole atmosphere and produced a better environment for spiritual development. It sounds harsh but God does not want division in his body and when it comes it must be dealt with and confronted. God, throughout scripture, isolates poison from his people. It should start with one-on-one confrontation. It should be done in a loving and encouraging manner. If not successful then take another person or two with you and try to encourage the people to be on board, but if you're constantly met with resistance, the person needs to be isolated.
As a side note, the person we isolated, has become a good friend and we have a high love and respect for each other today.
In addition to what I already said, I think we have to be really careful. Sometimes we might be the negative person. A negative person, in their own mind is 100% justified by their actions. They feel they are doing what they are supposed to be doing. They don't look at themselves as a negative person. So we could be that negative person in a group. We should always evaluate ourselves as well.
This was a sad chapter to read. God did so many things for His people and instead of them being grateful and trusting Him to continue to lead them and give them victory, they foolishly chose to grumble, complain and talk about finding someone else to be their leader and go back to Egypt. Talk about pitiful! God is so patient and kind, but here is a time where we see that He has had enough of all the negative talk and rebelliousness. Moses intercedes for the people and other than the 10 spies who gave the bad report, the congregation is spared from God’s immediate wrath, but there are still consequences for their faithlessness. Only Joshua, Caleb and those under the age of 20 will be able to enter into the Promised Land. Everyone else will die in the wilderness over the next 40 years.
We can learn a valuable lesson from this chapter. Negativity can spread like wildfire. Be careful to not develop a bad attitude, but instead be thankful for each day that God gives us to trust His Word and rejoice in Him! I know that I fail at this at times, but I’m reminded of Proverbs 4:23-24. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.
Jim, thank you for sharing that Proverbs verse! It is one I will keep close to my heart. Blair, thank you for being transparent about the confrontations of negativity you have faced!
As a teacher it is easy to allow negativity to creep into our daily speech. Whether we are talking negatively about the administration, the students, parents, or other teachers, once it starts- it’s hard to stop it. I hope I can really focus this upcoming school year on putting away that crooked speech and devious talk. To be a leader like Caleb and Moses, even when everyone else around me is choosing to speak and believe differently. I have seen time and time again where problems could’ve been easily solved with loving and kind confrontation vs negative talk without confrontation.
I also notice Moses interceding for the people and it is a reminder to me that those in my life struggling with sin NEED my prayers. When I am tempted to talk about them, judge them, or think negatively about their decisions, I must pray for them just like Moses did.