“But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord, valiant men. And they withstood King Uzziah and said to him: “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord but for the priests the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God.”
2 Chronicles 26:18
It was a dangerous thing to oppose a king who could have your head removed. But still more dangerous is when pride enters the heart as it did with Uzziah. It leads to deception and sin and ultimately to judgment. Yet the courage and valor of the priests motivated them to say to Uzziah: “get out”.
There are two things of which a leader must beware: pride and permissiveness. Pride is devastating, causing illicit actions and dire consequences. It will cause a man to act in foolish boldness leading only to his own destruction. Pride will always provide an excuse (in one’s own thinking) for the the violation. Permissiveness is the lack of interference, the failure to stop another from unrighteous behavior. Those who fail to intercept others who are failing to obey are themselves in sin. To overlook sin, or allow fear of confrontation to inhibit intervention is sin itself. This non-action can bring judgment to all and therefore must be avoided.
There are moments in every man’s ministry when he must take a strong stand, even if it hurts him personally. Those who are trespassing in some way and refuse to change must be told to make an about-face; told to leave, to go. To allow sin to continue in your midst will bring judgement upon yourself and infect people you lead. To wink the eye and not deal directly with an offender is irresponsible and you will be held accountable to God for your lack of action. Do not allow sin to infect the whole body. Deal directly with the problem person and in a timely and loving manner. God will back you up in one way or another just as He backed up the actions of the priests by striking Azariah with Leprosy.
How can you detect pride in your own life? What can be done to prevent it? Have you ignored someone under your leadership whom you know to be in sin? How will you deal with that person?
