Thanks for joining us on this journey of building a consistent habit of reading our Bibles every day. The Bible reading plan we are using this year can be found here: One Year Bible or here on the Bible app. As always, if you miss a day, don’t feel compelled to go back and catch up. Just skip it and start back on today’s date. I am reading the NLT this year, but feel free to use whatever version you prefer. Now here are some thoughts from today’s readings:
“What’s more, you haven’t brought us into another land flowing with milk and honey. You haven’t given us a new homeland with fields and vineyards. Are you trying to fool these men? We will not come.”
– Numbers 16:14
Numbers 16:12-15 is an illustration of a leaders biggest frustration. Here we see two leaders complaining against Moses saying that he didn’t accomplish the organizations goal that they set out to complete. He took them to the edge of the promise land but couldn’t get them in. Then they basically say he is no longer fit to lead and they aren’t going to listen to him any longer. This seems crazy to us because we can see the big picture. The people didn’t go into the promise land because of their own fear! But here is the problem leaders face: often people aren’t seeing the big picture.
It’s inevitable. In every group, family, or organization of any kind, there are those who think when an organization isn’t producing results, it’s just the leaders fault. They don’t realize how what they did or didn’t do affected the goal of the organization. They aren’t seeing themselves as a member of a group moving towards a common goal. They see the organization as a means to an end for them. It’s there to serve them. And when it’s no longer doing that, they try to find someone to blame.
Helping people see how their contribution affects the overall goal is the hardest part of leadership. Actually, the only harder part may be hearing the complaints from people who just don’t get it. But that’s part of being a leader, and God has called us all to be leaders in some capacity or another. So, what are we going to do? Glad you asked. First, we stop putting blame solely on the leaders above us and start looking at how we can be a part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Second, we learn not to let people talking get to us. We trust God to take care of them while we take care of God’s business. There will always be haters. We just need to make sure we’re not one of them.
What can you do to make life easier for a leader in your world? Are you allowing the opinions of others to weigh you down and stop your leadership?