Pastors Behaving Badly 07: Keep Some Discretion!

I am wrapping up this series today with a short post on discretion with your house. This is really important! Let’s jump straight into God’s Word:

¹² Soon after this, Merodach-baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick. ¹³ Hezekiah received the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did those men want? Where were they from?”

Hezekiah replied, “They came from the distant land of Babylon.”

¹⁵ “What did they see in your palace?” Isaiah asked.

“They saw everything,” Hezekiah replied. “I showed them everything I own—all my royal treasuries.”

¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from the Lord: ¹⁷ The time is coming when everything in your palace—all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. ¹⁸ Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king.” (2 Kings 20.13-18 NLT)

Hezekiah messed up his life and his son’s lives because he showed off all his treasures to an enemy. Privacy and discretion are actually really important parts of ministry, and I know more than a few ministers who have missed opportunities for advancement and opened themselves up to attack by not showing proper discretion and keeping private things private. I am not saying keep secrets or mislead people, I am saying keep private things private!

• Keep your house private. Don’t let just anyone wander in at any time. If you let people in your house, like Hezekiah did, someone may steal your treasure! Others will discuss what they saw in your house – the dishes not done, the clothes waiting to be washed. They didn’t think that the reason you were behind with housekeeping is that you were praying and counselling them and others over and over. Your house is not an extension of the church, not at all. And when visitors come over, they do not need access to the whole house. Keep parts exclusive! Maintain some privacy, don’t reveal all the treasures in your home! There is a devil and he will use people to come into your home and attack you – some people are jealous of you and will attack you. People will constantly evaluate how much money they think you have based on your possessions. Eglon, the king of Moab, let Ehud into his bedroom and Ehud took advantage of the invite and stabbed him to death!
• You do not have to let people into your house without an appointment, sometimes, if the church does not have a permanent venue or office, meeting someone at a coffee shop or cafe is a much better option. You can eat with them and build a deeper fellowship, and you have the safety and accountability of being in public at all times.