MDB 8: Nehemiah 3
Nehemiah 3:1
"Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate."
The walls, which to this point have languished from neglect, are being rebuilt. Over the course of a couple of months, the residents of Jerusalem will come together under the leadership of Nehemiah in this important effort to fortify the city.
What a sight this would have been. Folks from all walks of life are engaged in this work, and as verse 1 tells us, it includes even Eliashib the high priest. The high priest! He has exchanged the priestly mantel for blue jeans and work gloves, holy vessels for shovel and trowel, incense for dirt. Here is servant leadership on display. You want to talk "incarnational ministry" - that concept is not the domain of the missional church. Here is the high priest in the city of Jerusalem stacking stone upon stone. Hard physical labor is not beneath him. His hands are blistered. His back hurts. He is a humble servant leader.
Humility is not saying you are not what you are; it is saying that you will not insist upon those benefits which are yours by what you are. A humble student is not the one who lies about her grades, but who, in full knowledge of her honor roll status, does not look condescendingly upon the average student. The humble heart surgeon is not one that tells his patient, "I'm not very good at this, but let's hope for the best." That is not humility - that is deception. Instead, the humble heart surgeon willingly gives up the preferential parking spot at the hospital to an orderly. Yes, Eliashib is still the high priest, and upon completion of this section of the wall, he will return to his normal duties. His humility is not in denying his status, but in full recognition of his status, making a conscious choice to lay aside what is his by right and taking up the work alongside those who build the wall.
This work is kingdom work, and no work in the kingdom is beneath us. Yes, we may be called to different things at different times in different contexts, but the principle is still the same. Christian leaders especially should not view their position as cause to avoid humbling work. Instead, one of the ways to lead is by demonstrating humility in action.
