One thing I realized as I
read through the account of the Israelites' journey to the Promised Land - Moses
was not a control freak!
Why do I say that? Take a look at Numbers 11. The Israelites sing their song of complaint again. This isn’t news to Moses. He’s heard it before. In fact, he’s heard it multiple times before.
This time he’s fed up and he
needs to vent. Sometimes leaders do
that. Days can be long and frustrating. Working with different personality types is challenging and can leave you as twitchy as a long
tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs!
Moses has a lot to say to
God. You can read his rant in its
entirety in Numbers 11:10-15, but the last two verses give you the general
sense of the level of Moses’ irritation with the people and his leadership
role…
“I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! If this is how you intend to treat me, just
go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and
spare me this misery.” Numbers 11:14-15 (NLT)
Have you had days when you
just want say, “Kill me now!”? I know I
have.
Moses earns my respect as a
leader in the way he responds to what happens next. God agrees with Moses
and introduces a solution to the problem. God
tells Moses…
“…Gather before me seventy men who are recognized as
elders and leaders of Israel. Bring them
to the Tabernacle to stand there with you.
I will come down and talk to you there.
I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the
Spirit upon them also. They will bear
the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it
alone.” Numbers 11:16-17 (NLT)
Sounds like a great plan,
right? Suddenly the responsibility of
the leadership role is split between a bunch of different people.
But let’s be honest for a
minute…
What if my boss came to me and
said, “You know what Carol, I know you’re in charge of managing the six people
on your sales team, but I’m going take away some of that responsibility. From now on you’re going to manage one person
on the team and I’ll assign someone else to be in charge of the other five."
Do you think I’d be happy
about that change? I’d probably think I
was failing in my job as a sales manager and wonder when the pink slip was
coming!
My pride would be hurt and
I’d probably fight to hang onto control of what little responsibility remained of my job.
Control and pride – a leader's kryptonite.
But here’s the lesson from
Moses. God does share the spirit of
leadership among seventy men Moses collects and brings to Him. They all begin to prophesy, a sure sign that
they have the spirit within them, but Joshua, Moses’ assistant protests and
asks Moses to make them stop.
Read what Moses says to this…
“…Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lords people were
prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them all! " Numbers 11:29
(NLT)
What a great reaction for a
leader! Moses gets a gold star for this
one! He isn’t jealous. He’s not worried
about maintaining control. He doesn’t
let his pride overcome his need for assistance in leading the Israelites. He’s grateful for the help.
Oh that I would be as humble
a leader as Moses!
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:
Does your pride stop you from
asking for help?
Share your thoughts by
clicking on “comments” below.
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