One of the things about living in a democratic, post-modern society is that every voice is broadcast and respected. As much as possible, via the media and through politics, every citizen’s voice is heard and valued.

In one sense that’s a great thing. It means people aren’t marginalised. It helps us understand one another. It means that poor and helpless minorities are not overlooked.

But on the other hand it often means that uninformed and ignorant voices are valued beyond what they ought to be. Classic examples are street vox pops on the evening news and talkback radio where regular citizens are given a megaphone on issues they may know absolutely nothing about.

In Australia this equality of opinions and views welcomes criticism of our politicians particularly.

Again, this is often a good thing as it means our leaders are held accountable by those they govern – and what better group to hold the leaders accountable.

But excessive criticism and ridicule can lead to loss of dignity and admiration on the part of our leaders. And we can end up with leaders who are considered hopeless, and who ironically are left with no hope of leading properly.

This pluralistic approach, where every opinion is valued and where leaders are unduly criticised, also creeps into churches.

Of course it is important to weed out church leaders who are sinful and unrepentant, and who don’t fit the criteria outlined in the Bible. And of course many regular churchgoers have good ideas.

But when church is approached in the same way as a post-modern, democratic society, our leaders are stripped of the honour they are owed, and our congregations become a breeding ground for opinionated, dissatisfied pew sitters.

I came across these verses from 1 Thessalonians chapter 5:12-13 today.

“Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.”

Notice Paul doesn’t say “[R]espect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord, if they have ideas, opinions, methods, and strategies better than yours…” No. In fact he says we ought to respect our leaders simply because “of their work”. And not only respect them, but hold them in the “highest regard in love”.

Considering the society around us, and the high opinion many of us have of ourselves and our views (myself included), we’d do well to meditate on these verses.