Moses Didn’t Do It Alone, Part 7

Scripture — Exodus 18:17-24

Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. Now listen to me. I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You should represent the people before God, and you should bring their cases before God; teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they are to go and the things they are to do. You should also look for able men among all the people, men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain; set such men over them as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Let them sit as judges for the people at all times; let them bring every important case to you, but decide every minor case themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will go to their home in peace.” So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said.

Devotion

Last week I began reflecting on a fascinating encounter between Moses and his father-in-law, Jethro. Jethro, noticing that Moses is overworking, encourages his son-in-law to delegate a substantial portion of his leadership to others. Moses receives this advice and acts upon it.

In last Thursday’s devotion I noted that Moses was indeed trying to govern and judge by himself. Perhaps he did this because he was the sort of person who focused so intensively on what had to be done that he didn’t step back to think about how best to do it. I also noted that Jethro was quite direct in his criticism of Moses. Moses was able to receive this criticism (even from his father-in-law!) because Jethro showed how much he cared for Moses’s wellbeing. It didn’t hurt that Jethro didn’t just criticize but also offered a solution to Moses’s problem. Not doing it alone is enhanced when we care in a personal way for our colleagues, as Jethro did for Moses.

Today I’d like to reflect with you on Moses’s response to Jethro. I’m impressed by Moses’s response to the counsel he received. Exodus puts it simply, “So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said” (Exodus 18:24). Sometimes leaders resist even the best and well-intended advice because their egos can’t handle it. They just can’t summon up the humility to admit they were wrong and follow the guidance of someone else. But Moses was not such an insecure and/or narcissistic leader. Rather, he was humble enough to receive the counsel of his father-in-law and to do “all that he had said.”

As I consider my own leadership in light of this story, I think of many times I have received wise counsel from someone and how I have responded. I’ll confess that often my first response is to feel defensive. I don’t know where I got the idea that my self-worth depends on my always being right, but that mistaken notion hides within my heart, jumping out to scare me when someone suggests I’m doing something wrong. If I can put my defensiveness aside, however, if I can imitate the humility of Moses, I’m usually able to learn things that help me in my work.

For example, several years ago I met with someone I’ll call Joseph. He was an intermittent reader of Life for Leaders. “I like what you’re doing,” Joseph said, “but sometimes what you write is just too long. I don’t have time to wade through it all.” Instead of jumping to my own defense as would have been natural to me, I managed to set aside my insecurity and say, “Tell me more about this.” So he did, sharing with me both words of appreciation and his concern that the length of my devotions was sometimes a problem for him. As we talked, I admitted that Life for Leaders devotions were longer than is typical for daily devotionals. I explained that I was trying to write something that had more theological depth and/or more extensive applications than one usually finds in devotional writings.

Somehow in that conversation an idea emerged. What if I included each day a short summary of that day’s main point? Folks who didn’t have time to read the whole devotion could at least take in the Scripture reading and the central thought. When I wrote my next devotion, I tried this out. Thus the Focus section of Life for Leaders was born. Today, after writing Focus paragraphs for several years and hearing about their value from many readers, I’m convinced this has been a worthwhile addition to Life for Leaders. It would not exist if Joseph had not shared his concern with me or if I had let my tendency to be defensive hold sway over me.

The humility of Moses reminds me of Jim Collins’s description of what he calls “Level 5 Leadership” (see his book Good to Great, chapter 2). A Level 5 Leader, according to Collins, can be described by this equation: HUMILITY + WILL = LEVEL 5. He goes on to write, “Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It’s not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious—but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.” Though Moses wasn’t trying to build a great company—rather a great nation—nevertheless he demonstrated the character of a Level 5 Leader.

The example of Moses challenges and encourages us to be humble leaders. This means we will be open to receiving advice from others and, at times, even criticism. Our top commitment will be, not to our own egos, but rather to the flourishing of whatever it is we’re leading: a company, a school, a city, a church, a non-profit, a studio, or a family. In this way we will not do it alone.

Banner image by Joe Holland on Unsplash.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Three Qualities to Look For When You Build a Team.

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