On being disrupted in your family, business, or community

Judges 6:25-27

My last reflection focused on Gideon recognizing he was dealing with God, and so he built an altar to commemorate the experience. Now God speaks directly to Gideon:

That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night. (Judges 6:25-27)

God is calling Gideon to his first act as a judge: to destroy the spiritual idol of his own community, thus rebuking his friends and family and the leaders of his town. It is at least a controversial act, and Gideon sees it as possibly fatal, so he makes his move under the cover of darkness. Gideon’s first act is not to go out and rally the troops against the oppressors (the Midianites), but to go directly at his own people’s worship of a false god.

When I think of characters in the Bible and what we learn from them, or what behavior we should emulate, I wonder if I would have the courage to be the disruptor — Gideon or one of his servants — or would I be the disrupted, the community member worshipping the wrong God? The idea of going against your own family seems incredibly challenging. And, I wonder about some of the things we tend to worship in our family businesses, for example, power, wealth, growth, or material things…and how I might respond to someone holding me accountable to my focus on the wrong priorities!

Has someone close to you challenged (disrupted) you, or something you hold dearly, and if so, what was your response? Have you ever attempted to confront the priorities of your family, family business, or community?