Nehemiah has problems from without -- the taunts and threats. Those are to be expected when you are doing anything that makes a difference. There are people that will not want to see you succeed. The only way to avoid this kind of complaining is to do nothing.
The far more serious threats to any undertaking are the problems that inevitably rise from within. I say inevitably because it doesn't matter the power of the vision, the goodness of the cause, the excitement surrounding the undertaking, there will be problems that arise because we are all people. Agreement and unity are difficult to achieve in a brotherhood and country that has long promoted thinking and being responsible for yourself.
Nehemiah's internal problems are discouragement of the people in the face of the threats and unfair treatment within the team. I want to focus on the internal. Often we can't do anything about external threats but there is usually something we can do about the internal.
First of all, Nehemiah as a leader listens to the complaints of those he leads. More than listen, he does something. It's been my experience that often leaders make a decision and head and treat the people's complaints as just that. They often just joke about the complaints they get or talk them away. But Nehemiah doesn't have that luxury.
He takes care of the discouragement by reminding them of their God and their purpose and by devising a way to protect them in their work. [Nehemiah 4:7-23]
The "usury problem" is even more intriguing. It underscores the slavery that being in debt and the charging of interest entails.
"You are exacting usury from your own countrymen!" So I called together a large meeting to deal with them and said: "As far as possible, we have bought back our Jewish brothers who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your brothers, only for them to be old back to us!"
Many churches are enslaved to debt and unable to do the real work of the church -- taking care of the fatherless, the widows and the "aliens" (the NIV's words there) -- because they are trying to pay off a building. How often have we gone in debt to do God's work other than build a building for ourselves? And it's difficult to preach about the responsibility of the congregation to avoid the slavery of debt and not to give in to materialism and the temptation to run out and buy a big flat screen television when you're in debt and the church building is festooned with flat screens.
I apologize for the soapbox. But those with ears let them hear.
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