The Infancy Pandemic
Spiritual food with Jess – Mon August 3, 2026
Have you looked at the story of Balaam and gotten caught up in the spectacle, missing the fact that the donkey was actually a mirror God gently held up to Balaam’s heart? Balaam was a man (seer) who saw the things of heaven, yet over time his own desires had slowly started to cloud his vision. He was walking down a path God permitted, yet his heart was already being pulled by a reward waiting at the end of the road. There is but a sadness in realising that a donkey could see what the prophet no longer could. Balaam’s spiritual sight hadn’t failed him; rather, it had been compromised by allowing his focus to be on what he could gain instead of keeping his heart fully fixed on God.
This is a quiet warning for all of us, and honestly, it’s a bit of a gut check. We can so easily do the same thing, gently placing the things God created on a pedestal above the God who created them. We choose security, recognition, comfort, or the approval of people, and then we wonder why we can no longer perceive what He is doing in our lives. We wonder why we cannot hear or see clearly, forgetting that our hearts have been feeding on things that never came from Him. The issue is rarely that the gift has been abolished but rather that the gift belongs to God, so it remains. But the fragile vessel carrying that gift becomes cracked, distracted, and caught in a state of perpetual spiritual infancy.
Let’s be honest: decades in a church building can sometimes produce nothing more than a consumer if there is no active submission to the Holy Spirit. Somewhere along the line, we’ve started mistaking a long seat assignment in a pew for actual spiritual development. We confuse regular attendance with spiritual transformation. But if the primary purpose of leadership is to guide people into deeper growth in Christ, then appointing stagnant, unchanged leaders is a profound theological contradiction. How is this happening in our churches to begin with? Who is making these decisions, and why aren’t they being taken more seriously? Church boards, pastors, and even congregations, through popularity contests, are selecting leaders based on human qualifications rather than spiritual maturity. Secular qualifications do not automatically mean someone has a genuine, growing relationship with God.
In Hebrews 5:12-14, Scripture bluntly exposes believers who had been around long enough to be teaching others, yet still needed the absolute basics of faith. They were stuck in this infancy pandemic. God’s blueprints for church leadership in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 do not contain a single requirement for “time served,” social status, financial influence, or professional charisma. Instead, God demands proven godly character, spiritual maturity, and the capacity to teach and encourage. Paul does warn us about putting an unproven believer into leadership because the pressure of the platform will crush them under the weight of pride. We confuse professional skills and a smiling face with spiritual maturity, and it’s a dangerous trap.
We take human qualifications seriously because they are visible, measurable, and convenient. Yet we fail to discern the hidden truth. We easily see a successful business background or a charismatic personality, but spiritual maturity is quiet. It takes true spiritual discernment to look for fruit like humility, secret prayer, and self-control. Mind you, spiritual maturity doesn’t mean you can’t have a laugh and enjoy life. Lighten up a little. God has a sense of humour too. He once used a literal talking donkey to talk sense into a prophet, which should give hope to at least half the people on church boards. Holiness isn’t a permanent frown; it’s deep freedom!
But it is also a sober reminder as to why we should be careful with how we judge those who have fallen. Balaam still spoke the raw, beautiful truth God gave him, even when his own heart was not quite right. His gift did not mean his choices were approved, but his failure also did not mean God could no longer use him. It is a humbling irony. Kind of ironic, isn’t it? It reminds us that we cannot say everything a person ever taught was false just because they broke. God has always woven His story through imperfect people like David and Peter. Yet, we also cannot say character doesn’t matter just because someone is gifted. God cares deeply about the heart, calling us to holiness just as He calls us to serve.
When we place individuals into positions of authority who do not pray, show growth, or display spiritual fruit, we change the definition of leadership from a holy stewardship into a corporate vacancy. Slot filled. Check. The reality is quite simple: you cannot give what you do not have. How do you expect to guide someone to a place you have never been? If a leader does not lead by example, they are merely a manager of a religious club. This is not a question of a person’s value. Every single soul is made in the image of God and is deeply loved by Him. But leadership carries strict accountability. Ephesians 4 states that leaders exist for one distinct reason: to equip and to bring the church into spiritual maturity. If a leader is not maturing, the mission is compromised from the start.
The answer is never to idolise our leaders, nor is it to discard the truth they carried when they fall. The answer is simply to keep our eyes on God. We hold onto what is true, remembering that the treasure belongs to Him, not the person. Isn’t it time we stopped lowering the bar out of desperation or social politeness? If we want a spiritually mature church, we must start by demanding spiritually mature leaders whose lives point directly to Jesus Christ.
Perhaps the tragedy is not the sudden fall, but rather the slow, silent drift where our hearts become so anchored to this world that we stop looking at God. Eventually forgetting that we are living in the dark, not realising the lights have been turned off for quite some time. Anywho, having said all that… please don’t look too closely at my own life over the next five minutes, or we might have to re-evaluate this entire message. Let’s pray!