The Challenge of Being Misrepresented

Scripture — Nehemiah 2:19-20 (NRSV)

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they mocked and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven is the one who will give us success, and we his servants are going to start building; but you have no share or claim or historic right in Jerusalem.”

Devotion

Today we pick up the story of Nehemiah and his rebuilding effort in Jerusalem. As you may recall, after receiving authorization from the Persian king Artaxerxes, Nehemiah traveled to Judah to begin his work. One of the first things he did was deliver letters from the king that explained his royal authorization to the Gentile leaders in the area. Not unexpectedly, these officials, including Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite, were unhappy that someone was going to restore Jerusalem (2:9-10).

After secretly surveying the project he had taken on, Nehemiah finally announced to the Jewish leaders what he intended to do. When they learned of the king’s permission and God’s grace, they were eager to get going (2:18). But, as we might expect, Sanballat and Tobiah, along with Geshem the Arab, were displeased. Instead of getting angry as they would later, they tried to discourage Nehemiah and his Jewish collaborators through mockery, ridicule, and misrepresentation. They asked, “What is this that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” (2:19).

Given the fact that Nehemiah had delivered letters from the king to Sanballat & Co. (2:9), they knew that Nehemiah was not rebelling against the king. So why would they ask a question suggesting this was true?

I expect they had several hopes. The idea that Nehemiah’s actions appeared to be rebellious might have slowed him down or instigated opposition from some of the Jewish people. Moreover, others who had not been privy to the royal epistles once shown to Sanballat & Co. might have been worried about an apparent rebellion. The last thing any of the residents of Judah would want was the Persian army coming to town to quash a rebellion. So, by misrepresenting Nehemiah’s intentions with the question, “Are you rebelling against the king?” Sanballat & Co. hoped to slow him down or even stop his wall-building effort altogether.

If you’ve been leading for a while, I expect you may have experienced misrepresentation of your views and intentions. Sometimes this happens without ill intent; somebody simply misunderstands what you’re trying to do and misrepresents you out of ignorance. But less innocent misrepresentation is all too common in places where people disagree about things that matter, in businesses, churches, cities, government entities, and families. When, for example, is the last time you observed a political candidate making a genuine effort to represent the views of their opponent accurately and fairly?

Over the years, I’ve faced my share of misrepresentation. (I fear I’ve done some of it too, though I hope without ill intent.) When I was a new pastor of my church in Irvine, California, I wanted to lead change in several key areas. One of those in the church who was most unhappy with my proposals was a key staff member I’ll call Jim. He and I spent hours and hours talking about what I intended for our church. I heard his objections and tried to understand them. But, in the end, Jim and I simply disagreed about key strategies in his ministry area. “At least,” I thought to myself, “now he understands what I’d like to see happen and why.”

A few months later, Jim announced that he was leaving our church and taking another position. That didn’t surprise me. Nor did it displease me. I agreed that it was time for him to move on. After he left, however, I started hearing from people in his area of ministry. They wanted me to know how angry they were with my plans for them and their ministry. But what upset them was nothing like what I actually wanted. They believed things about me and my plans that were simply untrue. Exasperated, I asked, “Why do you think that’s what I want?” Time and again I heard, “Because Jim told us that’s what you planned to do.” I was devasted because I realized that Jim had intentionally misrepresented me to many in my congregation. I had to do lots of relational repair work, and even then, some folks weren’t sure they could trust me. Jim’s damage to me and my ministry – and our church – was substantial.

Now, my situation was different from that of Nehemiah in that the people upset with me weren’t my opponents, but my parishioners, the people entrusted to my care, as Scott Cormode would say. I would never have said to them, “You have no share or claim or historic right in this church” (see 2:20). What I needed to do, instead, was to invest the relational time needed to repair the damage Jim had done. I needed to build trust. I needed to help my people understand what was true about me and my plans. And I needed to listen to their hopes and fears.

I also needed to learn from the people in my church what role I had in their misunderstanding. Yes, I had been misrepresented by Jim. However, I discovered that I had also not done the best job of communication. I needed to do better.

All of this took lots of time and effort, time and effort I would rather have put into moving forward on my plans. But, as I look back on all that happened, I see how God used this situation for good. On the one hand, I got to know many people in my church better, including their hopes and dreams for our church and their lives. On the other hand, I learned some important lessons about communication and my need to do better than I had done in the past.

As you saw in Nehemiah 2:20, immediately after hearing the mockery and innuendo of Sanballat & Co., Nehemiah said, “The God of heaven is the one who will give us success.” If we truly believe this, it doesn’t mean that it won’t be painful when we are misrepresented. But it does mean that we won’t panic, overreact, or fight back. Rather, with confidence in God, we will, like Nehemiah and his collaborators, press on in the work God has given us to do.

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: Speaking the Truth from the Heart.