When somebody brings a concern to you, do you listen to what happened, or do you start counting who is still loyal to you?
That question belongs in every assembly. It belongs to those who teach, those who counsel, and those who have been entrusted with people’s confidence. The moment we make protecting our place more important than caring for the people, we have departed from the work we were given.
YAHUSHA Ha’Mashiach showed us what authority looks like when it is submitted to YAHUAH. He took a towel and washed His disciples’ feet. Then He told them to follow His example (Yahuchanun (John) 13:3–17). If we want to lead in His name, we must be willing to do the work He did when nobody else wanted to kneel.
The flock was entrusted to you
“Feed the flock … which is among you”
— Kepha Ri’shon (1 Peter) 5:2, KJV excerpt
Kepha tells elders to serve willingly, refuse dishonest gain, and lead by example without dominating those in their care. That instruction gives a shepherd real work to do. It also sets a boundary around the shepherd’s authority.
Read Ezekiel 34:2–10. The shepherds fed themselves while the weak went without strength, the injured went without care, and the scattered went without anyone seeking them. YAHUAH paid attention to what happened to the sheep.
We need to pay attention too. Who is doing all the giving and going home exhausted? Who stopped asking questions after being humiliated in front of everyone? Who came for help and left carrying the burden of protecting the person who hurt them?
Before you call someone rebellious for leaving, find out what they endured while they stayed.
Correction should bring people back to the Word
There is a time to rebuke sin plainly. There is also a way to use a true verse to do an unrighteous thing. A person can quote Scripture accurately and still use it to intimidate someone, dismiss a question, or make an ordinary preference sound like a command from YAHUAH.
In Galatians 6:1, the aim of correction is restoration. The person doing the correcting is told to act with meekness and consider their own vulnerability to temptation. That instruction still applies when the other person is wrong.
If you correct a brother or sister, tell them plainly what you believe was wrong and show them the passage in context. Give them room to answer. If you misunderstood what happened, say so to the people who heard your accusation. A private apology can leave a public falsehood standing.
What our words reveal
Sirach connects what comes out of a person’s mouth to what has been cultivated within:
“The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had”
— Sirach 27:6, excerpt
Pay attention to how you speak when somebody can offer you nothing, when they disagree with you, and when they tell you that you caused harm. A gracious greeting is easy. How you answer when your conduct is questioned tells the assembly something it needs to know.
The Testament of Asher, a supporting Pseudepigraphal witness, urges its hearers to follow “truth with singleness of face.” The call is to practice the same goodness openly and privately. If you teach mercy before the assembly and mock the wounded in private, begin your tashubah there. (Testament of Asher 6.)
Watch the Teaching
Vessels For Worship — Natsarym of YAHUSHA
This teaching accompanies the call for those who serve publicly to let YAHUAH cleanse what they are still protecting in private.
Make room for the truth to be heard
If someone brings a concern about you this week, resist the urge to explain your intentions first. Hear what happened. Ask what was said, who was affected, and what needs to be repaired. If you control the setting and everyone in it answers to you, make room for someone outside that circle to hear the concern fairly.
If you are the one who was harmed, you can ask for help without having every word ready. Speak to someone trustworthy who can hear you without immediately taking the matter back to the person you fear. Where there is intimidation or abuse, seek support and keep whatever distance you need for safety. You do not owe anybody a private confrontation to prove your sincerity.
And if you stand beside a leader you love, love them enough to tell them the truth. When a pattern becomes clear, the assembly must be willing to act: protect those who were harmed, correct what was taught falsely, and remove responsibilities when someone keeps using them to do harm. Tears can accompany tashubah. Changed conduct gives people something they can actually see.
YAHUSHA said that greatness among His disciples would be expressed through service (Mattithyahu (Matthew) 20:25–28). Let that reach the next conversation you have with someone who cannot repay you, promote you, or make you look good. Give them your time. Hear them fully. Do what is right by them.
Closing palal
YAHUAH OUR FATHER IN THE NAME AND AUTHORITY OF YAHUSHA HA’MASHIACH,
Search us where we have used Your Word to defend our pride. Bring us to tashubah where we have silenced people, excused cruelty, or demanded a loyalty that belongs to You.
By Your Ruach Ha’Qudash, give those who lead the humility to receive correction and the courage to repair what they have damaged. Give those who were harmed trustworthy people to stand with them. Teach our assemblies to hear the truth, protect the vulnerable, and restore with wisdom.
Keep us close to YAHUSHA Ha’Mashiach. Let set-apartness be seen in the way we serve when no one is watching,
in the name and authority of YAHUSHA Ha’Mashiach, Aman,
