CONSIDERING THOSE WITH US

I Samuel 23:1-5
There is an article on my DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT BLOG from the same passage, dt.13th Feb. '09, entitled HEARING GOD'S VOICE #5 ... but for here, I am going to be focussing just on a leadership principle, which I see prominent in the life of David.

David is not yet King over Israel, but has already been anointed by Samuel.
He is on run, just as a fugitive, for his life, from a raving King, Saul.

It is during such a time that he hears the news that the city of Keilah is under attack by the Philistines.
He promptly inquires of the Lord (vs.2) to see if he should go on an attack, and he gets a green signal from the Lord.

Now, those who were going to 'stick out the neck' for him, were the 600 or so men who were with him (vs.13).
David doesn't command these men to go to fight, just because he heard the Lord.
He mentioned this to his people, who were naturally scared.
They think they are not even safe in their own place (vs.3), let alone another city.

2 things here:
a) David not only recognizes that his people need to be informed of his decision making process, but
b) Also gave them the freedom to express what they felt in their hearts.

He was a person who was willing to listen to both God and men around him.
A wise leader ... who made wise decisions.
He was forced to go back to the Lord and get it confirmed .. and now all happy, they go and conquer and free Keilah and rout the Philistines.

How many of us are so proud to hear the voice of the Lord, and care less for those whom we are leading, or those following us?
Do we have the slightest of concerns for their welfare, or are we caught up with our ego .. that only I can hear God!!
Or how about the feeling, that when I hear God, I am always right!

# 3: One who is concerned for his followers / flock

Matt.8:5-13 - The Faith of the Centurion

Here we see a centurion seeking Jesus' help for his servant.
It's quite unusual that the boss is concerned for his servant, when usually it's the other way around.

This man was desperate seeing the condition of his servant.
- Do we care enough for our flocks / for our followers?
- Do we see them struggle?
- Does that move us with compassion?

Many times we can be so ignorant, naive & oblivious to what is going on around us - are we so self-centered that we are blinded to such realities?

This centurion let aside his dignity / pride / reputation, when he came to seek after the Lord Jesus.
When Jesus saw his faith, He was 'astonished' & made a remark about his 'great faith'.
God notices the minute things we do with integrity and He will be pleased.

- Are we causing astonishment or embarrassment to the Lord?
- Are we astonishing the Lord or our followers?


Combine this thought with a strong word I received this morning to be praying for the leaders everywhere, especially for myself and those around me from Ezekiel chp.34, about the Shepherds and the Sheep.

To say the least, God was not pleased with the Shepherds in those days, as these people were only concerned about their own welfare ... (vs.3-6)
* they didn't care enough for their flocks
* they didn't care to bind their wounds
* they let them wander and stray about ...

So, God said He will shepherd them Himself (vs.11-16).

These are the words of caution for us:
- Are we exploiting our followers / our flocks, so we can live a better life (vs.3)?
- Will God be pleased with our kind of leadership and shepherding, or will He want to take over?


And there is a purpose for that - Ezek.34:30,31 - "Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord".

As a shepherd, we are called to point them to the Lord, not to ourself!
God is not just interested in our welfare alone, but those whom He has entrusted to us to care for as well.

# 2: RECOGNIZING 'what' needs to be done & by 'who'

Joshua 18:1-6
This is the story of the Israelites in the Promised Land, after it was brought under their control ... but, the 7 Israelite tribes had not yet received their inheritance.
Perhaps, they were just living wildly, as they saw fit - without much of an order.

The 3 tribes (Gad, Reuben & half tribe of Manasseh), chose the land before they crossed the River Jordan on the East & 2 tribes had chosen their lot (Judah & the house of Joseph) in the promised land.
The rest were apparently WAITING - what for????? No one knows! Surely they needed a push or a kick on the 'backside'

In vs.3 - Joshua urges them to take possession of the land which God has given to them.
Yes, the people had been slack and not gone in with the zeal to take over.

Joshua exhibits fine leadership skills here, as he encourages them to do something, realizing they weren't doing anything:
He doesn't do, what the people were supposed to do!
He didn't want them to sit back and wait for it to happen either.

Joshua made them do 3 things:
a) vs.4 - Appoint 3 men from each tribe
b) vs.5 - You divide the land into 7 parts
c) vs.6 - Write down the description of the 7 parts

It could have been so tempting for Joshua to find able men by himself, especially when there were 7 tribes who didn't bother - but Joshua shows restraint.

He didn't just push them to do, but realizing that they might not know how to proceed sets them some parameters to work within!

Let alone doing the job on behalf of the people, there are leaders today, who slack and get the followers to do what they should be doing themselves!

Both actions are blatantly wrong!
- Doing for others what they should be doing; &
- Getting others to do what we should be doing.

True leaders recognize WHAT needs to be done, and WHO should do it.

# 1: Leadership is MORE than just a title

This is a common notion among Christians, as we are called to be 'servant leaders' like our Lord Jesus Christ.
Along with this quip is the buzz-statement for Leadership in the 21st century: LEADERSHIP IS INFLUENCE.

While the idea is great, how many LEADERS actually allow followers to take on this role?
Sadly, not many.

Well, one might say - we all influence others one way or the other.
If these statements are true, I would like to throw 2 questions here:
a) Why are many leaders NOT influencing?
b) Why does a person influencing others without a title, is subjected to control & not allowed to move in that gifting?

We are not talking about a general or NEGATIVE influence here, but having a positive effect for the Kingdom.

And what about those, who want a title to start influencing?
.. and those who start behaving differently because they have the title?

To end this otherwise huge debate, I'll close with an exhortation: while we all influence people in our day-to-day life, let's realize we don't use titles to do so.
And we are all shaped by the next person's influence in our life - for good or for bad.
May we be challenged to be deliberate and intentional in influencing others to think about God ... a holy God at that!