Seth Bartal's ADVENTURE

Humility Isn't Enough (2 Chronicles 32-33)

Throughout the Old Testament the lives of many kings are recounted for us, and the level of their humility does play a role in how well each king is remembered.  However, it was not just humility that made a king great - it was humility before the Lord.  There's a difference between simply not thinking too highly of yourself and humbling yourself before the Lord.  Both are important, but the kings of Israel whom the Lord blessed to the highest degree were those who humbled themselves before Him.  After all, it was God's people, and they were simply given stewardship over the people for a period of history.

It can be very easy in leadership to get a big head about what you've accomplished or the number of people you're leading, but the wise leader realized that God is the One in control, and He can take away the opportunity to lead in a matter of moments.  Leadership is a privilege bestowed upon the one leading, and it is the leader's responsibility to lead wisely in a way that brings glory to God.  The one who is humble before God isn't afraid of passing glory on to Him anyway.  Are you a leader?  If so, are you humble before the Lord?  If your name was written in the account of the kings of Israel, how would you be remembered?

A Leader's Role (1 Kings 12-14)

Both Rehoboam and Jeroboam learned the hard way that a leader's role isn't to maintain power.  Leadership is given by the Lord - He's the One who appoints leaders, and He's the One who removes them from power.  In the cases of both of these men, they lost their leadership roles because of their efforts to keep them.  Isn't it funny how that worked out?  They fought so hard to keep something that wasn't their in the first place, and in the end they lost it.  If only Rehoboam had listened to the older men who suggested that he become a servant of the people rather than a source of stress to the people.  If only he had listen and hadn't sought to maintain his power.  Or if only Jeroboam had remembered that the Lord appointed him as a new king in Israel and that it was only by the Lord's grace that he received such a position, then he wouldn't have been tempted to make the false altars and to cling to tightly to his power.  The difference between David and these two men is that David understood that leadership was a privilege - a stewardship - it was only for a time, and it didn't belong to him.  If you're a leader, don't forget that your role isn't a guarantee; it's a privilege.  God has given it to you for a period of time.  Don't waste the opportunity to lead, and don't be selfish.  Seek to serve those whom you're leading, and the Lord will bless your efforts.

A Listening Ear (2 Samuel 16-18)

When David was confronted by the curses of Shimei he had a couple of choices.  One option was to have his mighty warriors wipe Shimei from the face of the earth.  Another option was to listen to Shimei's words and to take heed.  Certainly, the people on David's side were hoping that he would give them permission to destroy the little pipsqueak who was making derogatory remarks about the king.  David, however, realized that God uses people - great and small - to carry His messages of truth.  Who was David to judge whether Shimei was simply a message from the Lord, fulfilling the role that God had given him?  

It's so easy to want to close the mouths of our detractors, but the truth is that sometimes they are not simply thorns in our flesh but carriers of truth.  We need to prayerfully consider what exactly they are saying, and then we need to decide what to do with it.  Many times these people have ill motives and do not carry important messages, but wouldn't it be tragic if we missed what God wanted to tell us simply because we quit listening to those who disagree?

The Danger of Assumptions (2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 19)

When I was in middle school I learned a cute little phrase to remember how to spell the word assume... unfortunately this blog probably isn't an appropriate place to repeat it.  However, there is a lot of truth behind the idea that assumptions are often wrong, and this is underscored by the grave mistake of Hanun, King of the Ammonites.  He listened to some very bad advice that was based solely on assumptions, and as a result, he missed the opportunity to keep the peace between his nation and Israel.  In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey shares the habit, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood."  If we can remember that, we can make huge strides in the way of not making assumptions about people and situations.  

Character Matters (2 Samuel 8-9; 1 Chronicles 18)

Yesterday I spent some time talking about David’s humility.  Today another aspect of David’s character can be highlight – his integrity.  David wasn’t always perfect in this area of his life, but for the most part, his integrity was very strong.  One of the best examples of this relates to his treatment of Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth.  David was the new king of Israel, and his kingship really was as a result of the failing leadership of Saul.  Saul wasn’t just killed in a battle; the Lord revoked his kingship and placed David on the throne instead.  Saul’s household lost the privilege of royalty, and the responsibility of any of his descendants was to pay homage to their new king – which is what they did.  David’s response, however, was nothing short of miraculous.  Instead of lording his new authority over the remained of Saul’s house (which happened to be one servant and Mephibosheth), David exalted Mephibosheth to such a place that he had a standing invitation to dine at the king’s table – a privilege carried by few people.  No one would have faulted David for ignoring Saul’s relatives – particularly after the way Saul treated David.  However, David chose to act with integrity and to do the unthinking: to welcome Saul’s family into his own and to care for their needs.  How do you deal with your enemies?  How do you deal with the children of your enemies?  Is it with character and kindness?  Or is it with spite?  David sets an amazing example for us of how we need to treat them.

 

God's Guiding Presence (2 Samuel 5:1-10; 1 Chronicles 10, 11:1-9)

A stark contrast certainly existed between King David and King Saul as it came to God's presence in their leadership.  The difference between the two men was that David sought to bring glory to the Lord and Saul sought to bring glory to himself.  Since David's efforts were directed at the Lord, his work prospered under God's hand.  No verse better summarized this than 2 Samuel 5:10, "And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the Gos of hosts, was with him."  God's presence guided David's leadership, and though his life was not marked by perfection (after all, whose life is marked by perfection), God guided and brought Israel into a new era of recognizing the Lord and submitting themselves to Him.  Godly leaders will always bring their followers into a recognition of and a submission to the Lord.  And when they do that, God's hand will be upon all that they do.

A Strange Mourning (2 Samuel 1-4)

Aside from the extreme bloodbath that took place in these first chapters of 2 Samuel, we get some key insights into David's view of God's anointed.  On two separate occasions, men approached David with the "good news" that Saul and members of Saul's family were dead.  Now if I was in David's shoes, I would be jumping for joy at the knowledge that I would not longer be pursued by a devious, maniacal person who was planning on ending my life.  David's response, however, was one of extreme grief.  In spite of the very likely frustration of being pursued by Saul, David fully believed that he was God's anointed until the day of his death.  And since he was God's anointed, who was David to bring his life to an end?  If God wanted Saul to die of natural causes, couldn't he have orchestrated that?  After all, does God hold our every breath?  And so David came to the conclusion that Saul was around because God wanted him present.  He understood the important lesson that God doesn't need our help in accomplishing His purposes.  I don't mean to beat a dead horse here as I know I've talked about this several times in the last week or so.  However, we need to learn the lesson of submitting to the authorities whom God has placed over us just as David did.  He did not relish the fact that such grief was brought upon Saul's household because he believed that God placed Saul in authority for a reason.  The same is true for us.  The leaders over us are there for a reason, and we need to submit to them simply because God has allowed them to rule over us.  

A True Friend (1 Samuel 21-23)

One of the things that strikes me about Jonathan's friendship with David is how incredibly selfless it was.  Jonathan had every right to loathe David since he was the one who would be stealing the kingship from him.  But Jonathan understood God's higher purposes, and he knew that the leadership of the nation was being passed on to someone else.  Rather than fighting what he knew the Lord was doing, he decided to preserve his friendship with David and seek to defend the work of the Lord.  That says a lot about his character.  What do you do when you realize that God wants to raise someone else up instead of yourself?  Do you fight for what you believe should be rightfully yours?  Or do you submit, encourage, and even enable the process to go more smoothly?  In God's economy, personal glory has no value anyway... so if He wants to raise someone else up for a period of time, it's better to get out of the way. 

Leading with Confidence (Numbers 16-17)

My guess is that Korah and the others were somewhat regretful for challenging Moses' leadership and claiming that he was simply seeking after his own glory.  It seems that many leaders, at some time or another, have their motives questioned by their followers, and I appreciate the example that Moses gives to us.  I think there are several leadership lessons that we can take from this reading.

1. If you're doing what God wants you to do, then you don't need to make any apologies.  As long as you have that confidence, then boldly lead.  It is not prideful or arrogant to do what God asks you to do.
2. Grassroots movements of people questioning your leadership should be dealt with swiftly (that is, if you're confident that God is leading you).  If Moses hadn't dealt with the mutiny on hand, the whole nation could have been wiped out because of their faithlessness.  However, Moses was able to stop the tragedy from spreading to the entire people.
3. God will be your defender.  Notice that Moses didn't defend himself before the people; he allowed God to defend him.  He dealt swiftly with the issue, but he used the opportunity to bring things before the Lord, and he allowed the Lord to step in.  

A Fresh Idea on Leadership (Exodus 18-21)

Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, was a God-send as it came to the administration of Israel.  Had he not shared his unsolicited advice, the nation would have been limited by Moses' efforts to listen to every dispute that the Israelites came up with.  Jethro observed this unfortunate situation taking place, and suggested that Moses might increase his leadership reach by appointing qualified people to oversee the disputes and bring only the most difficult cases to him.  In doing so, Moses would multiply his leadership efforts, and he would be giving others the opportunity to help lead the people.

When I started in Student Ministry, I think I was guilty of the same leadership problem as Moses: I tried to do everything by myself.  Over time, however, I learned that passing on the responsibilities to other people freed me up to do the things that I really enjoyed and was good at, and it gave them the opportunity to spend their time doing something meaningful for God's Kingdom.  It was when I made those changes that the ministry really began to grow.  When a leader chooses to hold too tightly to too many things, the result is that growth of the ministry or organization that he or she is leading will be limited to the number of things the leader can do and to the quality at which he or she is capable of doing them.  The wise leader learns to pass leadership responsibility on to others.  In doing so, everybody is blessed in the process.