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“I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I’m more afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.”
Bob Goff
We will be reading through Nehemiah 6:10-19
The wall is finished and it was done in a very short amount of time: 52 days to be exact. A nation that had been utterly destroyed, ransacked, and enslaved was now restored with protection in less than two months. Not only that, but they accomplished it under the threat of attack and siege. Truly, this was a feat that could only have been achieved by a great nation. But Nehemiah knew his group did not do it on their own but, instead, were supported by God.
Unfortunately the threats were not gone. Jerusalem’s enemies wanted Nehemiah’s head:
One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, ‘Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.’
Nehemiah 6:10
How is Nehemiah to react?
I was recently asked an interesting question that has a general implication for Christians and a perfect tie-in for this section: “Is it ever appropriate to do the wrong thing for the right reason?” While this chapter is about the crisis at the newly formed walls, Nehemiah’s reaction is too powerful to ignore. Instead of physically hiding in God’s house where he could be safe, Nehemiah acknowledges that his safety is in God’s hands. Right now, Nehemiah’s enemies have not been called to kill him so he has nothing to fear.
Can you say the same? Maybe you made a mistake with the technology you’ve been running. I called a whole blogging series “Tech Wreck Tuesday” where I went over horror stories of failures where I had accidently erased hard drives, put a magnet too close to a projector, accidentally programmed a virus that overheated a computer, incorrectly handled a social media crisis, and so many more. I was not alone as others joined in the series, and in many of the stories, we knew we were in trouble and not a little bit.
Whether you realize it or not, we hold a lot of power and are responsible for a lot of security within the church. A microphone goes out, a slide doesn’t transition, a virus doesn’t get blocked, a social media account gets hacked, credit card information from e-tithing leaks, personal information on your church’s ChMS is published publicly, and so much more. These are no small problems, and you can have a lot of stress over your head.
But the God of the heavens and earth also reigns over our silicon and bytes. We need to serve not just with an active knowing we are doing something important, but also something that is truly God ordained. With this, who can stand against us?
Use these reflection questions for the comments section.
- What are your three biggest fears with the position(s) you hold in the church technology ministry?
- How much of it do you have control over and how much do you need to give to God? (Note: this is not a trick question, you certainly have some part to play in training and performing)
- Why is it important that we do not let fear reign over us? What can be done by you or church leadership to help you combat that fear?
Speak your mind...