But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the LORD who were men of valor, and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the LORD God.” 2 Chronicles 26:17-18
A few years back, I broke a front tooth, which made me look like a hick from the sticks. I was terribly self-conscious about it, so when I talked, I tried to make sure my upper lip didn’t reveal that tooth. This caused me to hold my mouth in such a way that looked goofier than the broken tooth. A good buddy – one with whom I’ve been in a men’s accountability group for years – saw me and demanded to know if I’d returned to chewing tobacco. Chewing tobacco was something I’d done years previously and which I’d given up, and so, he was concerned by my appearance that I’d fallen back into the behavior. Appropriately concerned, he called me out. I wasn’t using tobacco, but I was appreciative of his willingness to confront me. That’s a good friend.
Sometimes, when we witness bad behavior, it’s our job to call it out. This is illustrated in today’s passage. In the story, King Uzziah grew prideful and entered God’s temple, insisting that he could do the job of a priest. This was forbidden buy the law, but Uzziah considered himself above the law. Appropriately, Azariah gathered his fellow priests and confronted Uzziah. This couldn’t have been easy or comfortable. Uzziah was their king. The priests however, answered to a higher power than the king and so, they did what was right, even though it could have cost them their lives.
I’m not suggesting that, as Christians, we should be calling out all sins in the lives of everyone around us. That’s not our job. There are times though, when it is up to us to confront self-destructive behavior. The story of Uzziah offers some tips on when and how to do so. First, there was some relationship between the two parties involved. These weren’t complete strangers. Second, Azariah got backup, not going it alone, but rather, taking other priests with him. Third, these were all men of integrity who weren’t struggling with the same sin they were confronting. Finally, they appealed to a higher authority – God – as their standard for right and wrong.
Confronting those who are in the wrong can be terribly uncomfortable, but there are those times when sitting back and doing nothing would mean that we are in the wrong.