Leading Without Letting Our Love Grow Cold

Scripture — Matthew 24:1–14 (NRSV)

As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. Then he asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birthpangs.

Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.”

Devotion

As I’ve listened to leaders, friends, pastors, and colleagues over the past few months, I’ve heard a repeated sentiment expressed: across industries and seasons of life, people feel disoriented and unsure of how to navigate the disruptions of the present moment. Do I engage more on social media or discontinue my accounts? Do I work against all of the threats I see or focus only on one threat that feels the most important? How do I lead and work with others who experience these political and economic events differently?

Although separated by two thousand years from the original event, I find Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 a helpful guide to sorting through these questions and concerns. In our passage, Jesus is describing what will take place when the temple in Jerusalem is destroyed. Jesus is teaching the disciples how to live faithfully in the midst of changing political and religious regimes.

Jesus paints a picture of confusion, fear, and economic disruption. There will be wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes. It will feel as if every nation is fighting for its survival. This large-scale suspicion and violence will take root in the homes and communities of the disciples themselves. Not only will they be persecuted, killed, and hated, but Jesus says they will begin to hate and betray one another. Not only will communication between political powers break down, but the intimate spaces of homes and meals meant to sustain life will become fraught with distrust and animosity.

And then Jesus comes to this line: “And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt 24:12–13). I find it interesting and significant that Jesus connects the cooling off of love with faithful endurance. Faithful endurance during times of disruption requires that we attend to our love, that we stoke the embers of neighborly love and work against its cooling off into cynicism or bitterness.

But how do we keep our love from cooling off?

Jesus’s single admonition in this passage is for the disciples to be wary of being led astray by false messiahs and false prophets. A real temptation in times of confusion and disruption is to trust in people or ideas that promise deliverance, especially those that present all-too-simple enemies that we must defeat. Jesus warns that anyone who promises salvation in a way other than self-giving love—the way of the cross—is selling false goods.

But the text invites us to take a wider lens to discern how we might endure faithfully and avoid the cooling-off of our love. The phrase “endures to the end” is repeated one other time in the Gospel of Matthew, in Jesus’ missionary instructions to the disciples (Matt 10:5–42, see v. 22). This repeated phrase, then, invites us to see in those missionary instructions a path forward.

First, the missionary instructions begin with Jesus calling the twelve disciples and sharing his authority with them (vv. 1–4). In these trying times, we must remember that Jesus continually calls us and desires to share his authority with us. We need to be grounded in our identity as disciples of Jesus if we are to lead faithfully during these anxiety-filled seasons.

Second, before the worldwide mission to the nations (cf. Matt 28:18–20), Jesus sends the twelve disciples to the house of Israel (Matt 10:6). Keeping our love aflame requires that we develop a tenacity for those God has entrusted to our care. We cannot easily give up or abandon those in our community, churches, or workplaces who disagree with us.

Third, Jesus sends the twelve as vulnerable leaders, without money, bags, extra clothes, sandals, or staffs (Matt 10:9–10). The disciples’ vulnerable presence becomes a conduit for the power of the kingdom of God because it creates the opportunity for the people in the community to respond to the presence of vulnerable bodies with compassion and hospitality. In this way, leading with vulnerability keeps us open to the gifts of others and creates the opportunity for neighborly love to activate and grow.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: How to Respond to End Times.