May 11, 2022
Leadership Notes
As the story goes, Mama Skunk and her two little skunks, In and Out, went for a walk in the woods. Chasing in and out of brush and shrubs and brambles, In and Out got a wee bit ahead of Mama Skunk. Eventually, she caught up, but Out was all alone. She enquired as to the whereabouts of In. Out did not know.
Her panic rising, Mama Skunk enlisted the aid of various woodland creatures in the search. They scoured every fallen tree trunk, rocky crevice, lush field, and hole in the ground they could find. Nothing.
Finally, Out walked out of an outcropping of smallish stones with In scurrying after. Clearly, Out had an innate ability to find lost things. His mother asked how he knew where to look, to which Out replied, "In stinks."
Good leaders, most of the time, in most situations and circumstances, exhibit good instincts. We need leaders with good instincts who will multiply us, not divide. Leading from behind is never a good thing.
There are innumerable stories in the Bible about good leadership instincts. I especially like the one from Numbers when men were sent to scout out the land God had promised them. Here's how Numbers 13:30-33 describes the scene:
But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once
and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had
gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for
they are stronger than we are.” So they brought to the people of Israel a
bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through
which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants,
and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw
the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we
seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”
Ten of the twelve offered a negative report. They were frightened and afraid. Worse than that, they didn't trust God and His promises. Not only were they leading from behind, they were not making smart choices for the future God had in store for His people. It's never a good thing when people in a leadership position blame others or make all kinds of excuses for why things can't or won't work. Not good instincts.
Two of the scouts, Joshua and Caleb, did not go along with the majority. They were ready to make the bold choice, because their natural leadership instinct was to trust the promises of God. They did not lead from behind. They were not quick to blame. They anticipated opportunity and then took bold steps to achieve it. Seems like a good way to go.
And now, your Moment of Spurgeon:
"Life is dear, but God’s love is dearer. To dwell with God is better than life at its best; life at ease, in a palace, in health, in honour, in wealth, in pleasure; yea, a thousand lives are not equal to the eternal life which abides in Jehovah’s smile."
With Much Love and Affection,
Richard
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