As we think about the neighbors we are called to love and respect for Jesus’ sake, it’s important to remember that our leaders are our neighbors too.

Most of us appreciate good leadership and generally look up to our leaders. So it’s very important for leaders to serve faithfully. To the best of their ability, they need to earn and maintain the trust that people have in them.

Most of us also realize that being a leader is not easy. Lead­ers are appointed or elected to guide us in making decisions and moving us ahead as a community. And they are called to lead wisely in times of crisis and struggle.

In our church communities today, as in the time when Hebrews was written, we have Christian pastors and other religious leaders. And we need to love, respect, and pray for them as they aim to lead with godly wisdom.

Sadly, many Christians today are polarized over vaccinations, racial justice, climate change, sexuality, and more. Within these tensions, it can be espe­cially difficult for Christian leaders to call people to follow Jesus in practical ways without fallout from the right or the left.

Let’s pray faithfully for our religious leaders. May they serve boldly and wisely in calling us “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with [our] God” (Micah 6:8).