The Hireling Spirit

Had an interesting experience with the Lord this morning. I was dialoging with Him about His call on my life to equip, train and release His people into their kingdom destiny, and specifically about the idea that people should always be the highest priority (after Him, of course!). My values concerning ministry have definitely been shaped by this concept.

So in the midst of all this, I suddenly heard myself proclaim, "...because I'm not a hireling!"

And I stopped dead in my tracks, overcome with the sense that I had just spoken something by the Spirit which was very significant. I repeated it several times, and the force of it really hit me.

I immediately opened up to John 10 and read this:

"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.He flees because he is a hireling and is not concerned about the sheep." (Vs. 11-13)

Here's what I received from the Lord:

The "hireling spirit" can be identified by where our focus is. In Jesus' example, the hireling sees a wolf and flees, leaving the sheep unprotected. His focus was NOT on the sheep. His focus was on his own safety and security. It wouldn't have mattered whether it was a wolf, a storm, or a thief...anything that threatened his real focus or priority would resulted in the same response. His appointed service was limited by his selfish focus.

In modern day terms, this self-serving spirit is revealed by exposing the true direction of our focus. Jesus said the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. That teaches us about proper focus, proper priorities. He said the hireling is not concerned about that...he's not concerned about the sheep. So if I am more concerned about other things, then I have been seduced by the hireling spirit. That's because all those other things have more to do with me, and what's important to me, than with serving God and His people.

But let's go one more step here. What if you've settled this issue in your heart? What if you have made your commitment to the Lord, to serve Him and His people, and these priorities are now bedrock values in your life?

And what if, in the course of living out these values every day, you are asked to violate them? You know, bend a little...compromise just a bit for the sake of........what? Your position? Your reputation? Maintaining "proper appearances?" Your comfort? Your security?

Would you do it? I've wrestled through this today and have come to the conclusion that I can't. I can't because these values now constitute a large part of who I am, and to do so would be to deny the work of grace the Lord's been doing in me all these years.

So what I hear the Spirit saying is this:
If the above-mentioned, or any other, self-centered concepts ever become my focus, then I am nothing more than a hireling who will choose to violate his own core values whenever it suits him. In short, I am then serving myself, not the Lord.

Therefore my decision is to remain true to what He's revealed and taught me. No matter what the cost.

I'm extremely grateful to the Lord for clarifying this to me today. There are certain foundational truths which are clearly non-negotiable in our lives. While I can love and serve with people who may not share my particular set of non-negotiables, we all must remain true to that which we've personally received from Him.

Sometimes when a line is drawn, you just can't cross it.