Reluctant Leadership

But Moses said to God, “Behold, who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”  Exodus 3:11  NASB

Who am I? – God rarely chooses those who clamor for the assignment.  In fact, the Bible demonstrates that God’s preference is for those who not only don’t want the job but can’t imagine themselves in the role at all.  A measure of biblical leadership is the degree of reluctance by the one chosen.  Only those who know themselves to be completely inadequate can demonstrate the sovereignty of the Master.  All others will struggle with their own claims of greatness.

Moses spent forty years training to become the new Pharaoh.  But when he attempted to complete God’s purpose in his own strength, he was instantly banished from the task.  It took another forty years for Moses to ­unlearn what it meant to be a leader in order that he might become God’s servant.  And when God finally knew Moses was ready, Moses didn’t see himself as a leader at all.  In fact, he offered every excuse in the book to avoid the assignment.  Whether his reluctance was proper or not, the story tells us that Moses was just like the rest of us – unwilling to believe that God could do anything with a “has-been”, a washed-out ex-celebrity fallen from power.  The truth is just the opposite.  God can’t do much of anything with those who think they are ready and powerful.

From Noah to Abraham, Jeremiah to Amos, Peter to Paul, God chooses the ones we would never have elected.  God chooses the fallen, the weak, the impotent, the rejected and the unknown.  To lead like Jesus is not to arrive in your Lear jet, take center stage or be asked for autographs.  It is to come on a broken bicycle, to be unremarkable and to suffer humiliation as the pathway to His glory.  If you want to be a leader for God, write the resume of all your failures and own it!

“Who am I?” said Moses.  Mi anoki.  In Hebrew thought, this is not a question about the individual alone.  It is a question about ancestry, tribal identity and community.  When Moses uses the term, he is not questioning his character.  Once prepared to assume reign, he already has the leadership skills, even if he wishes to deny them at this moment.  In Hebraic thought, Moses is questioning God’s choice of his line.  Moses is from the house of Levi.  Perhaps he remembers Jacob’s “blessing” of Levi:  “Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are implements of violence; let not my glory be united with their assembly;  . . . I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.”[1]  Would God choose a leader from a tribe that is no-tribe, a tribe that is cursed?  Apparently so.  When God chooses, the past doesn’t matter.

What about you?  What is your resume of failure?  What is your legacy of disobedience?  Have you determined that God can’t choose you because your ancestry defied Him?  Are you willing for God to rewrite the story?

Topical Index:  leadership, reluctance, ancestry, mi anoki, who, Exodus 3:11