LESS IS MORE
DAY 34: Type A. Choleric. Lion. Label my personality whatever you want but for me it just means I am most at home when I have something to be in charge of. I like having a vision for something and then putting in the work to see it come together. I like making decisions. I like solving problems. Sometimes I wind up solving problems that I also made, but it is all just part of the process.
When I hear there is a need, my first instinct is always to volunteer. I have to resist the urge to just say, "I'll do it," before I stop to think and pray. My "I can do that" attitude has not always served me or my family well. I have been known to put too much on my plate. So when I read today about how Moses was advised to step back and share the responsibilities, I embraced the message as perhaps God telling me to let go of some of the less critical things that others could do. After all, that is what He was telling Moses.
Out of Egypt for less than two months, Moses and close to two million Israelites were moving across the desert learning how to be free. Moses was the one teaching them. He was also the military strategist, community organizer, food planner, spiritual guide, and navigator. In a word, he was everything to everybody. When Jethro, his father-in-law comes to visit, Moses was also holding 12-hour sessions of The People's Court everyday settling disputes.
His father in law rightly assessed that Moses could not continue serving all of these roles. So he gave him some wise advice - Less is more!
EXODUS 18:17 “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
He was right. Moses was wearing himself out. His advice was to focus on the really important tasks and choose helpers to carry the burden of the less important tasks. In that way he would be able to bear the load on his shoulders.
Because I have a tendency to take on roles where I am in charge, my first thought was, "Oh, how wonderful. God is telling me He is going to send me someone to help me with some of my responsibilities so that I can focus on the really big stuff." Yet as I pondered this, I was sure that was not what God was saying. That was what I wanted to hear. So I continued to ask God what I could learn from this story; that is when He took my eyes off Moses and on to the people chosen to take care "of the smaller matters."
Moses could only take care of the big things IF others came along to relieve him of the small things. Those people were vital to Moses leadership and to God's plan. I don't need to be looking for helpers; I need to be looking to see who I can help so that they will not be worn out by a burden "too heavy." Instead of looking for the next "big thing" I can take on, I need to see who has a huge task that might need a little relief with some "simple" things. What I can do for them may seem small, and even insignificant, but it may be the very assignment God has waiting for me so that someone else "will be able to stand the strain."
This Type A, Choleric, Lion is ready to be a someone's gopher so their important things can get the attention they deserve.
That's what I hear today. What about you?
Day 34 of 365 with God:
Exodus 17:8-16
Exodus 18
Exodus 19:1-15
Matthew 22:34-46
Matthew 23:1-12
Psalm 27:7-14
Proverbs 6:27-35
Out of Egypt for less than two months, Moses and close to two million Israelites were moving across the desert learning how to be free. Moses was the one teaching them. He was also the military strategist, community organizer, food planner, spiritual guide, and navigator. In a word, he was everything to everybody. When Jethro, his father-in-law comes to visit, Moses was also holding 12-hour sessions of The People's Court everyday settling disputes.
His father in law rightly assessed that Moses could not continue serving all of these roles. So he gave him some wise advice - Less is more!
EXODUS 18:17 “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
He was right. Moses was wearing himself out. His advice was to focus on the really important tasks and choose helpers to carry the burden of the less important tasks. In that way he would be able to bear the load on his shoulders.
Because I have a tendency to take on roles where I am in charge, my first thought was, "Oh, how wonderful. God is telling me He is going to send me someone to help me with some of my responsibilities so that I can focus on the really big stuff." Yet as I pondered this, I was sure that was not what God was saying. That was what I wanted to hear. So I continued to ask God what I could learn from this story; that is when He took my eyes off Moses and on to the people chosen to take care "of the smaller matters."
Moses could only take care of the big things IF others came along to relieve him of the small things. Those people were vital to Moses leadership and to God's plan. I don't need to be looking for helpers; I need to be looking to see who I can help so that they will not be worn out by a burden "too heavy." Instead of looking for the next "big thing" I can take on, I need to see who has a huge task that might need a little relief with some "simple" things. What I can do for them may seem small, and even insignificant, but it may be the very assignment God has waiting for me so that someone else "will be able to stand the strain."
This Type A, Choleric, Lion is ready to be a someone's gopher so their important things can get the attention they deserve.
That's what I hear today. What about you?
Day 34 of 365 with God:
Exodus 17:8-16
Exodus 18
Exodus 19:1-15
Matthew 22:34-46
Matthew 23:1-12
Psalm 27:7-14
Proverbs 6:27-35
Comments
Post a Comment