Exodus 32
I have often pondered my own leadership, asking God to grant me the courage to lead in a holy and responsible way that pleases Him. Consider the following lessons from Moses on leadership.
Seek to please God. You can never satisfy people entirely. Early in my tenure as a Bible college administrator, I was facing some personal and professional struggles. I was beginning to make decisions and face some criticism for them. I agonized over decisions. Discipline, correction, confrontation, disappointing people… it all came very hard for me. I often confided these professional decisions and personal feelings with my college president.
One day he looked at me and said, “John, do you know what you need?”
I responded, “No, what do you think I need?”
“Thicker skin,” was his response.
He was right. Do you know how you get thicker skin? Adversity. Seek to please God. Pray for wisdom and His direction. You can never satisfy people entirely. Seek to please God.
Don’t compromise on the absolute. Now, you don’t need a long list of absolutes, but you’d better know what some are! Know that our Creator God is holy and Absolute, and that He requires holiness of us. Know that God is real, Jesus is your Savior, the blood of Christ shed on Calvary covers your sins by faith, the Holy Spirit abides in His fullness, the cross is your triumph, the grave is empty, and Jesus is coming back. Know that life is short, Heaven’s close, and Hell is certain. Know that you love God and you are walking in peace with your fellow men. Have some absolutes. Don’t compromise on them.
I remember when I was in graduate school. I was facing many questions, and I didn’t have all the answers. I came to the point that it was okay if I couldn’t find all the answers, but I was going to enjoy asking interesting and even difficult questions. But I never lost sight of some absolutes. The absolutes anchored me. Don’t compromise on the absolutes.
Seek personal relationships wisely. Seek relationships with people: your spouse, your children, your colleagues. Moses sought a relationship with his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and that relationship was a resource for wise counsel.
Moses sought relationship with God. We must as well. He is the Source of all we need. Stay in the Word. Remain faithful in prayer. Seek intimacy with the Heavenly Father. Live in unity with one another.
Know where your true loyalty lies. Don’t allow yourself to be more loyal to friends, peers, and earthly relationships than you are to God. On this occasion, Aaron, was a weak leader. He was more loyal to the Hebrew people than he was to Moses or to God’s command. People who compromise God’s truth for the sake of friendships lack the character for godly leadership. Leaders must learn a willingness to stand, and if necessary, stand alone.
Pray. Moses went into the tent of meeting to pray. When he left the tent of meeting, Joshua lingered behind, praying for his leader. Leaders must pray. However, there are moments when, in spite of our prayers, we lack the physical, emotional and spiritual resources to fight our battles. Yet we fight on. In those moments, we tap into God’s vast spiritual supply of grace, made available through the prayers of other intercessors who are seeking God on our behalf. I am frequently aware of the fact that someone is praying for me. In those moments, I lean into their prayers, encouraged to trust God as I face the impossibility in front of me.
When you are sure that God is the Author of the direction He is giving for your life, be fearless in fulfilling His Will. Sometimes, it takes time to discern the leadership of God. Don’t rush the discernment. Wait for clarity. Wait for the confirming witness of the Spirit through the Word of God, and through the shared witness of the Church. Once direction is received, be fearless in fulfilling it.
Stand up for leaders who are standing for the right. Don’t leave them there alone. It is easier to shoot at open targets than hidden snipers. True leaders become open targets, and the hidden snipers of complaint and criticism are always ready to mistake a mighty eagle for a turkey buzzard.
Later in the Exodus, Aaron and Hur elevated Moses arms in prayer and God gave the Hebrews victory over Amalek. Righteous leaders need those who will hold up their hands and support them when the tide of adversity is running against them.
Aaron’s weak leadership is contrasted with the strong leadership characteristics of Moses. Lead with honor, integrity, righteousness, prayer, and a love for holiness. Claim God’s promises in His Word and seek to please Him. Refuse to be blown about with the wind of public opinion. Don’t try to blend your faith with false beliefs and religions in order to be accepted by others. Embrace holiness. Don’t compromise with sin. Stand for truth, and stand with those who do. Don’t be swayed by public opinion that sides with wrong. Be a man or woman of singular faith. God and God alone!
“And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints” (I Thessalonians 3:12-13).
Lead like Moses.
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