Some times you wonder what people are thinking when they commit crime. Last week a guy went into a Walmart and shoplifted a realistic looking BB gun. He left there, walked a couple of hundred yards thinking to himself this should be easy money. He walked into the Fry Electronics nearby, produced the fake gun, the one with the tag still on it, and stuck up the Fry’s. It sounded like a good plan at the time.
Mr. Fake Gun left the store and walked through the parking lot, money in hand and gun in waistband. I’m sure vision of a thick sack of weed or a few bindles of meth danced in his little tweeker head. Two black and white patrol cars pulled into the parking lot and Mr. Fake Gun learned what real guns look like when they are pointed at you. Makes you wonder, what was he thinking? Sometimes leaders make decision, not quite that bad, but you scratch your head and wonder what were they thinking. I’m sure right now about ½ of my command is scratching their heads.
One of the most basic, yet critical tasks for a leader is to make sound decisions. Decisions that accomplish the mission and protect those directed to execute the plan. Many leaders lack in this area. I struggle with balancing the mission with the welfare of the employee. I tend to focus on the mission at hand, full speed ahead. Some times I feel like Admiral Farragut in the battle of Mobile Bay, “Damn the torpedo’s, full speed ahead!”
King David was that way. David’s rush to bring the ark back into the life of Israel cost Uzzah his life. David assembled the troops to bring back the Ark of the Covenant. He made a political deal they agreed with. “If it seems good to you” and “if it’s the Lords will”…lets bring back the Ark of God! Yeah…lets go! Charge. On the way back, the ox stumbled and Uzzah grabbed the ark. God struck him dead. When one reads this it seems kind of harsh. Touch a wood box and have God strike you down. It even appeared his intentions were good. As a result David did not bring back the ark to the city of Jerusalem, but to a town close by where it was guarded by a Levite.
Finally David got it. He ordered the ark to be carried as God prescribed. (I Chronicles 15:13) The Levites were the only ones who could carry the ark. There is a reason. They were the ones God prepared to carry it. The leader balanced the mission and the welfare of the troops. He made sure this time they were prepared.
The Levites went though a 7-day period of purification. The end of purification (Ex 30) they would anoint the priest with olive oil and spice. Only the priest could have this special oil. As they poured it over the head it would drizzle down through their thick beards. Once prepared the Levites could serve God. This process prepared them for the mission. God’s mission. They were prepared physically, mentally, emotionally and most importantly spiritually.
David should have known this was a Levite mission. Instead he picked Uzzah and Ahio, a different tribe. Maybe it was a reward as warriors of valor. They were doers. They got the mission done. They were powerful and lived on the edge, but they weren’t prepared for this task. It cost Uzzah his life. David failed his man. He failed to balance the mission with the welfare of his men through proper preparation.
As a leader of people who get the job done, it is incumbent on me to make sure they are prepared for the task. That means I need to balance the mission with their welfare. Question for you: Are you prepared for God’s mission? His Kingdom? In his prescribed why. Preparation begins by submission to Him and His will for you. He said, “I am not willing that any one should perish, but all come to repentance.” And again, “I am the way, the truth and life, no one goes to the Father (Kingdom) but through me.” Be a leader prepared for the most important mission in life.
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