When it comes to influencing people, there are three basic ways LEADERS do this:
1. Threaten them physically
2. Appeal to their emotions
3. Give them fair value
Let's look at each interaction from the perspective of profitability.
The first way is to threaten someone physically. "Give me that or I'll hurt you." If I threaten you with physical harm, then I am requesting a value in exchange for not hurting you. Basically, I am asking for a value and promising you I won't take a value from you. The extreme case of this would be to put a gun to your head and threaten your existence.
When you give me a value, are getting a value? Some would say yes, because you didn't lose your existence. In this case, however, you had your physical existence before our encounter, so, technically, you didn't gain anything. You didn't lose your physical existence and you lost the value I requested. This encounter results in my gaining a value and your loss of a value.
The second way is to appeal to you emotionally. "Please give it to me. Be a nice person, not a mean person." Some people call this begging. What I am really doing is asking for a value and promising you that you won't feel bad. Again, are you receiving a value? Some would say you are because you are not feeling bad; however, I would say you didn't feel bad before the encounter, so the non-loss of this value is not the same as gaining a value. If you give me a value I begged for, this encounter results in my gaining a value and your loss of a value.
Another version of this second way is to be a BOSS: Do this because I said so! I don't have to give you a reason!
The third way would be for me to offer something you valued in exchange for the value I was requesting. In the end, we both become profitable or we don't do the deal. This is the only moral way to interact with others. We must offer people something in exchange for what we want. Profitability and uniqueness allow us to do this in a fashion that both gain out of the encounter because we all value things differently.
Truth also played a role in the creation of profitability because we appealed to each other through reason. The first two methods did not involve truth and therefore didn't involve profitability. Actually, both of these non-profitable exchanges will get rectified in the end through justice.
Now the key question, what kind of LEADER is Jesus?
Does He threaten us physically?
Does He appeal to our emotions and tell us to do things because He said so without a reason?
Does He appeal to us through reason?
Next Post
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
The Pharisees
The previous post covered the importance of accurately interpreting text. This is called "hermeneutics". That post will serve as our introduction to looking at Jesus' words and their non-contradictory meaning. Today's post will serve as background before we begin looking at Jesus' words tomorrow.
Last week, we saw that the Old Testament ends with prophecies concerning the coming Messiah AND the abandonment of the Temple of God. The Old Testament ends around 400 BC. This leaves roughly 400 years of "silence" until the New Testament begins. What happened in that time?
The Book of Daniel tells us the progression of heathen rulers over Israel after Babylon: Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Israel was under a heathen king (Medo-Persian) when the Old Testament ended.
Alexander the Great conquered the world around 323 BC...just after the end of the Old Testament.
By 167 BC, the Temple is being used as a gymnasium. The progression away from God is complete!
Starting from the beginning of the Bible and going to 167 BC, we see the following progression: God leads people directly, God leads people through the patriarchs, God leads people through the Law and uses judges to bring about justice, God leads people through an Israelite king, God leads people through a heathen king, God is not leading people because the people have rejected God and embraced the heathen nation. (This is why the New Testament is written in Greek.)
From 167 BC to 142 BC, the Maccabean Revolt occurs which seeks Jewish independence so they can attempt to reinstate God’s law. By 140 BC, a great assembly in Jerusalem formally confirms Simon Maccabeus as hereditary high priest, national leader, and commander of the armed forces. After a series of assassinations and wars, Salome Alexandra (the queen) gives her support to the Pharisees.
Judea comes under Roman rule in 63 BC. Herod's temple is completed around 19 BC...less than 20 years before Jesus is born. Notice, this temple is a government temple...NOT a temple ordained by God.
The Roman government put the Pharisees in charge of the state ordained temple. The Pharisees were a religious group that aligned themselves with political power in order to remain in religious power.
We have covered this in a previous post: the Pharisees were incompetent. If they had understood the Word of God, they would have known Jesus was the Messiah...just from the Book of Daniel ALONE!!!
Jesus could ONLY have come during a time when Israel was being led by incompetent religious "leadership"...otherwise, Jesus wouldn't have been crucified. The religious group had to know enough of the Word of God to APPEAR to have understanding, yet NOT ACTUALLY have understanding. This group had TRADITION in the place of the Word of God and the results were contradictory beliefs in several areas...which Jesus addresses.
SUMMARY:
The Pharisees came to power apart from the Word of God. By the time Jesus is born, Israel is politically under the one superpower that exists (Rome) and religiously under a group (Pharisees) that followed tradition instead of the Word of God in order to stay in power. (Do you think circumstances are different today for Christians?)
Now we can look at how Jesus dealt with people who had tradition in the place of the Word of God...
Next Post
Last week, we saw that the Old Testament ends with prophecies concerning the coming Messiah AND the abandonment of the Temple of God. The Old Testament ends around 400 BC. This leaves roughly 400 years of "silence" until the New Testament begins. What happened in that time?
The Book of Daniel tells us the progression of heathen rulers over Israel after Babylon: Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Israel was under a heathen king (Medo-Persian) when the Old Testament ended.
Alexander the Great conquered the world around 323 BC...just after the end of the Old Testament.
By 167 BC, the Temple is being used as a gymnasium. The progression away from God is complete!
Starting from the beginning of the Bible and going to 167 BC, we see the following progression: God leads people directly, God leads people through the patriarchs, God leads people through the Law and uses judges to bring about justice, God leads people through an Israelite king, God leads people through a heathen king, God is not leading people because the people have rejected God and embraced the heathen nation. (This is why the New Testament is written in Greek.)
From 167 BC to 142 BC, the Maccabean Revolt occurs which seeks Jewish independence so they can attempt to reinstate God’s law. By 140 BC, a great assembly in Jerusalem formally confirms Simon Maccabeus as hereditary high priest, national leader, and commander of the armed forces. After a series of assassinations and wars, Salome Alexandra (the queen) gives her support to the Pharisees.
Judea comes under Roman rule in 63 BC. Herod's temple is completed around 19 BC...less than 20 years before Jesus is born. Notice, this temple is a government temple...NOT a temple ordained by God.
The Roman government put the Pharisees in charge of the state ordained temple. The Pharisees were a religious group that aligned themselves with political power in order to remain in religious power.
We have covered this in a previous post: the Pharisees were incompetent. If they had understood the Word of God, they would have known Jesus was the Messiah...just from the Book of Daniel ALONE!!!
Jesus could ONLY have come during a time when Israel was being led by incompetent religious "leadership"...otherwise, Jesus wouldn't have been crucified. The religious group had to know enough of the Word of God to APPEAR to have understanding, yet NOT ACTUALLY have understanding. This group had TRADITION in the place of the Word of God and the results were contradictory beliefs in several areas...which Jesus addresses.
SUMMARY:
The Pharisees came to power apart from the Word of God. By the time Jesus is born, Israel is politically under the one superpower that exists (Rome) and religiously under a group (Pharisees) that followed tradition instead of the Word of God in order to stay in power. (Do you think circumstances are different today for Christians?)
Now we can look at how Jesus dealt with people who had tradition in the place of the Word of God...
Next Post
Monday, April 28, 2008
Introduction to Hermeneutics
This is the continuation of the series on LEADERSHIP. The first week we covered background and the definitions of LEADER and BOSS. Last week we covered the Old Testament examples of LEADERS. This week we will begin looking at the ultimate LEADER: Jesus.
However, before we begin looking at what the Bible says about Jesus, I need to warn you...the Bible does NOT present Jesus in the same way that most people think. The Bible gives a view of Jesus that is different that the "traditional" view of Jesus that results in contradictions. I've found this out the hard way over the last fourteen years...
For the last fourteen years, I have read the Bible cover-to-cover every year and tried to learn as much as possible from others. However, I have noticed the overwhelming majority of people DON'T have a non-contradictory interpretation of the Bible.
Christians have contradictory beliefs EVERYWHERE they have substituted TRADITION in place of the Word of God.
For the last fourteen years, I have actively looked for contradictions in my belief system and the belief system of others. Whenever a contradiction was identified, I would look for and/or ask for Bible verses supporting the contradiction. I found that the contradiction was removed EVERY TIME by one of three ways:
1. The verses weren't in the Bible. People projected circumstances and/or events that are not recorded in the Bible.
2. The verses were misquoted. The ACTUAL verse said something different than what was believed.
3. The verse meant something else. This is the tricky case...
The overwhelming majority of the contradictions were removed with the first two ways. It is amazing how many times the issue went away when the verse couldn't be found...either because it didn't exist or it was misquoted. The first way (verse doesn't exist) deals with perspective (projection). The second way (verse misquoted) deals with interpretation...are the words accurately represented?
The third way deals with understanding. When a verse is quoted correctly, we are dealing with meaning. THIS is the case where I say: We all agree with what the Bible says, yet we disagree...we disagree on what the Bible MEANS. This ability to interpret text is known as "hermeneutics".
Hang on...don't let a big word put you to sleep. Notice that the first two aspects of "hermeneutics" are simple: 1) make sure the verse exists and 2) make sure it is quoted accurately. All of the complicated stuff occurs with the third way: understanding/meaning.
It is at this point where people can attempt to make the Bible MEAN whatever they want it to MEAN. Shouldn't there be a way to make sure we get God's TRUTH and not man's interpretation? There is! It involves using four God-given principles TOGETHER. These four principles are: contrastive thinking, non-contradiction, causality, and growth.
If these four principles are used TOGETHER, you will ALWAYS end up with non-contradictory TRUTH. If even one of these principles is ignored, you may end up with man's contradictory interpretation.
I believe these four principles are the key to helping us understand God (and the Bible) better.
This is the reason I published "Modeling God" last year.
For the rest of this series, not only are we going to see the non-contradictory interpretation of Jesus' words are different than man-made tradition that results in contradictions...we will see that Jesus used these four principles when He explained Himself. Jesus wanted us to use these four principles to make sure we kept our beliefs based on the Word of God and NOT man-made tradition.
Next Post
However, before we begin looking at what the Bible says about Jesus, I need to warn you...the Bible does NOT present Jesus in the same way that most people think. The Bible gives a view of Jesus that is different that the "traditional" view of Jesus that results in contradictions. I've found this out the hard way over the last fourteen years...
For the last fourteen years, I have read the Bible cover-to-cover every year and tried to learn as much as possible from others. However, I have noticed the overwhelming majority of people DON'T have a non-contradictory interpretation of the Bible.
Christians have contradictory beliefs EVERYWHERE they have substituted TRADITION in place of the Word of God.
For the last fourteen years, I have actively looked for contradictions in my belief system and the belief system of others. Whenever a contradiction was identified, I would look for and/or ask for Bible verses supporting the contradiction. I found that the contradiction was removed EVERY TIME by one of three ways:
1. The verses weren't in the Bible. People projected circumstances and/or events that are not recorded in the Bible.
2. The verses were misquoted. The ACTUAL verse said something different than what was believed.
3. The verse meant something else. This is the tricky case...
The overwhelming majority of the contradictions were removed with the first two ways. It is amazing how many times the issue went away when the verse couldn't be found...either because it didn't exist or it was misquoted. The first way (verse doesn't exist) deals with perspective (projection). The second way (verse misquoted) deals with interpretation...are the words accurately represented?
The third way deals with understanding. When a verse is quoted correctly, we are dealing with meaning. THIS is the case where I say: We all agree with what the Bible says, yet we disagree...we disagree on what the Bible MEANS. This ability to interpret text is known as "hermeneutics".
Hang on...don't let a big word put you to sleep. Notice that the first two aspects of "hermeneutics" are simple: 1) make sure the verse exists and 2) make sure it is quoted accurately. All of the complicated stuff occurs with the third way: understanding/meaning.
It is at this point where people can attempt to make the Bible MEAN whatever they want it to MEAN. Shouldn't there be a way to make sure we get God's TRUTH and not man's interpretation? There is! It involves using four God-given principles TOGETHER. These four principles are: contrastive thinking, non-contradiction, causality, and growth.
If these four principles are used TOGETHER, you will ALWAYS end up with non-contradictory TRUTH. If even one of these principles is ignored, you may end up with man's contradictory interpretation.
I believe these four principles are the key to helping us understand God (and the Bible) better.
This is the reason I published "Modeling God" last year.
For the rest of this series, not only are we going to see the non-contradictory interpretation of Jesus' words are different than man-made tradition that results in contradictions...we will see that Jesus used these four principles when He explained Himself. Jesus wanted us to use these four principles to make sure we kept our beliefs based on the Word of God and NOT man-made tradition.
Next Post
Friday, April 25, 2008
The Greatest Old Testament King?
After Solomon, Israel is split into ten tribes (Israel) and two tribes (Judah) consisting of Judah and Benjamin. During this time there are only two kings who are LEADERS.
Hezekiah is king of Judah when Israel goes into bondage.
"And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did. He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him." (II Kings 18:3-5)
In an earlier post, we covered how God's Will was for Hezekiah to die before having a son...and Hezekiah's justice allowed him to pray to live longer and have a son (Manasseh) who is the cause of Judah going into bondage.
"Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day." (II Kings 21:11-15)
The CAUSE of Judah going into bondage under a heathen king was Manasseh. After Manasseh, Amon reigns for two years. Then Josiah becomes king. He is the other LEADER.
"And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left." (II Kings 22:2)
The rest of II Kings 22 explains how the book of the law was found and read to Josiah. He rents his clothes and commands the priest:
"Go ye, enquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us." (II Kings 22:13)
The reply from God:
"Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent they clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place." (II Kings 22:19-20)
Josiah and Judah get spared bondage until after Josiah is dead. Notice again, God referenced the heart when he measured and valued the king. Josiah showed what was in his heart with the rest of his reign.
"And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile." (II Kings 23:13)
Josiah is the ONLY king who carried out God's hundreds of years old command He gave to Solomon! Solomon never took down the high places that God judged him for in I Kings 11:33! Back to Josiah...
"And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him." (II Kings 23:25)
Josiah turned to God with all his heart, soul, and might! Until Jesus establishes His kingdom, Josiah is the greatest king that ever lived. Why don't people say Josiah was the greatest king? Solomon had a lot of material things. What do we as a society value? Isn't esteeming Solomon proof one values the HAVE over the ARE?
(Notice, I Kings 15:5 says David did what was right except "only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite". II Kings 20:13 says Hezekiah showed visitors from the king of Babylon all the precious things in his house. I don't see ANYWHERE in the Bible where it says Josiah did one thing wrong as king.)
Jehoiakim was the last king of Judah.
"In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets. Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not pardon." (II Kings 24:1-4)
Jehoiakim disobeyed the words of the prophets by going against Nebuchadnezzar. God said through Jeremiah:
"The Lord said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction." (Jeremiah 15:11)
From everything we've seen this week, it is possible that God did this by selecting a king whose heart was able to be softened to take Israel into bondage.
Let's conclude this week's series by taking a big step back and looking at the Bible from the beginning until this point with regards to LEADERS...
God intended to lead people directly. In the Garden of Eden, He led Adam and Eve. Throughout Genesis, He led the patriarch. Israel eventually went under a heathen king (Pharaoh). God led them out from under Pharaoh. God led them through His Word and used "judges" to enforce justice both inside and outside of Israel. The people wanted a king. They wanted to be led by a person. They wanted to be like the other nations because our flesh tends to side with physical numbers instead of spiritual truth. God gives them a king, BUT He wants the king to LEAD by His commandments. ONLY three kings (David, Hezekiah, and Josiah) are able to do this. God then decides that if the people aren't going to TRUELY be led by God, they may as well go under a heathen king. After all, God would be allowing hypocrisy to rule if He continued to let a nation that wasn't following Him APPEAR to follow Him. Again, Justice is determining that if the people don't want to live according to God's commands, then they may as well have a heathen king.
However, God gives them over to Nebuchadnezzar, a king with a soft heart. If God had given them over to a king with a vicious heart, that king may have wiped out Israel. (The softening of Nebuchadnezzar's heart can be seen in Daniel chapters 1-4. Daniel is my favorite book. I have study notes on Daniel and have shared them in the past with those who want them. E-mail me if you would like a copy.) The Old Testament ends with prophecies that God's Temple will ceased to be used before the Messiah comes.
So, the Old Testament documents a progression: from God personally leading people, to God's Word leading people, to people using God's Word to lead people, to God's Word not being used. It is at this point the Bible presents the GREATEST LEADER to ever walk the earth. We will look at this LEADER next week...
Next Post
Hezekiah is king of Judah when Israel goes into bondage.
"And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did. He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him." (II Kings 18:3-5)
In an earlier post, we covered how God's Will was for Hezekiah to die before having a son...and Hezekiah's justice allowed him to pray to live longer and have a son (Manasseh) who is the cause of Judah going into bondage.
"Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day." (II Kings 21:11-15)
The CAUSE of Judah going into bondage under a heathen king was Manasseh. After Manasseh, Amon reigns for two years. Then Josiah becomes king. He is the other LEADER.
"And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left." (II Kings 22:2)
The rest of II Kings 22 explains how the book of the law was found and read to Josiah. He rents his clothes and commands the priest:
"Go ye, enquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us." (II Kings 22:13)
The reply from God:
"Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent they clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place." (II Kings 22:19-20)
Josiah and Judah get spared bondage until after Josiah is dead. Notice again, God referenced the heart when he measured and valued the king. Josiah showed what was in his heart with the rest of his reign.
"And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile." (II Kings 23:13)
Josiah is the ONLY king who carried out God's hundreds of years old command He gave to Solomon! Solomon never took down the high places that God judged him for in I Kings 11:33! Back to Josiah...
"And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him." (II Kings 23:25)
Josiah turned to God with all his heart, soul, and might! Until Jesus establishes His kingdom, Josiah is the greatest king that ever lived. Why don't people say Josiah was the greatest king? Solomon had a lot of material things. What do we as a society value? Isn't esteeming Solomon proof one values the HAVE over the ARE?
(Notice, I Kings 15:5 says David did what was right except "only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite". II Kings 20:13 says Hezekiah showed visitors from the king of Babylon all the precious things in his house. I don't see ANYWHERE in the Bible where it says Josiah did one thing wrong as king.)
Jehoiakim was the last king of Judah.
"In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets. Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not pardon." (II Kings 24:1-4)
Jehoiakim disobeyed the words of the prophets by going against Nebuchadnezzar. God said through Jeremiah:
"The Lord said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction." (Jeremiah 15:11)
From everything we've seen this week, it is possible that God did this by selecting a king whose heart was able to be softened to take Israel into bondage.
Let's conclude this week's series by taking a big step back and looking at the Bible from the beginning until this point with regards to LEADERS...
God intended to lead people directly. In the Garden of Eden, He led Adam and Eve. Throughout Genesis, He led the patriarch. Israel eventually went under a heathen king (Pharaoh). God led them out from under Pharaoh. God led them through His Word and used "judges" to enforce justice both inside and outside of Israel. The people wanted a king. They wanted to be led by a person. They wanted to be like the other nations because our flesh tends to side with physical numbers instead of spiritual truth. God gives them a king, BUT He wants the king to LEAD by His commandments. ONLY three kings (David, Hezekiah, and Josiah) are able to do this. God then decides that if the people aren't going to TRUELY be led by God, they may as well go under a heathen king. After all, God would be allowing hypocrisy to rule if He continued to let a nation that wasn't following Him APPEAR to follow Him. Again, Justice is determining that if the people don't want to live according to God's commands, then they may as well have a heathen king.
However, God gives them over to Nebuchadnezzar, a king with a soft heart. If God had given them over to a king with a vicious heart, that king may have wiped out Israel. (The softening of Nebuchadnezzar's heart can be seen in Daniel chapters 1-4. Daniel is my favorite book. I have study notes on Daniel and have shared them in the past with those who want them. E-mail me if you would like a copy.) The Old Testament ends with prophecies that God's Temple will ceased to be used before the Messiah comes.
So, the Old Testament documents a progression: from God personally leading people, to God's Word leading people, to people using God's Word to lead people, to God's Word not being used. It is at this point the Bible presents the GREATEST LEADER to ever walk the earth. We will look at this LEADER next week...
Next Post
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Leadership: The Warning
In the near future, I will be spending an entire week on the topic of today's post. For now, let's hit the highlights surrounding the circumstances of the kingship after David...
I Kings begins with David being old and near the end of his reign.
"Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him." (I Kings 1:5)
Once again, we have the example of a person facilitating their own purpose and progress at the expense of others. Our tradition sees this as acceptable when it comes to selecting a "leader". We've already seen that God does NOT think this is acceptable and His Word NEVER says LEADERSHIP is attained through campaigning. By the end of the first chapter of Kings, Adonijah appears to accept that Solomon is king.
David's final instructions to Solomon include the following passage:
"That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel." (I Kings 2:4)
Like we saw in yesterday's post, the heart is the metric God uses to measure and value LEADERS.
By the end of I Kings 2, Adonijah and the rest of Solomon's enemies from within Israel are all killed according to justice. Solomon can begin his reign in I Kings 3.
"In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee." (I Kings 3:5)
God is asking the king what he wants. This is God testing what is in Solomon's heart. Solomon's response?
"Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?" (I Kings 3:9)
Solomon's request is to be able to facilitate the purpose and progress of others! His request focuses on the cause of helping others: his heart!
"And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days." (I Kings 3:11-14)
God blatantly recognizes that Solomon did NOT facilitate his own purpose and progress WHEN HE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT! God says there will be no other king like him. This response from God almost looks like God was willing to do anything and gave to Solomon according to his words (another view at prayer from God's perspective) AND Solomon's request was so good, he either had enough value to get more from God OR the request itself resulted in the ability to get more.
There is another point...Solomon showed he was about facilitating the purpose and progress of others. He is a LEADER. Recall from the previous post on "Understanding and Task", LEADERS are the ONLY people who OUGHT to have power because they don't depend on it like a crutch...they know when to use it. Perhaps Solomon was given so much because he proved he didn't depend on it to get things done.
What do you think of this response from God? If you've read this response before, did you remember ALL the parts of it? How would you have responded if God had said this to you? What would you have been able to repeat 1 year later? 5 years later? 10 years later? 30 years later? Wasn't it COMPLETELY positive?
Actually, the ending of God's response comes with a warning to "keep my statutes and my commandments". Did Solomon keep God's statutes and commandments? What happened to Solomon's heart? For now, let's look at the short version...
Part of God's statutes and commandments say:
"When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among they brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall hencerforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:" (Deuteronomy 17:14-19)
A couple of KEY POINTS:
-God is telling Israel they will want a king like the other nations...this does NOT mean it was in God's Will.
-God says HE will choose the king (oh oh for Absalom and Adonijah...and others!)
-God says the king should read this law constantly.
-God specifically says NOT to get horses from Egypt, make silver abundant, and have a lot of wives BECAUSE they will turn the king's HEART away...
And we all know how important the heart of a king is to God.
What did Solomon do?
"And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones..." (I Kings 10:27)
"And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt..." (I Kings 10:28)
"But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father." (I Kings 11:1-4)
Solomon did NOT listen to God's warning and Solomon's heart was turned away.
For those who want to delve more into Solomon before the future week long series, here are two areas to look at:
1. Read the next three verses of I Kings 11 (vv 5-7) and determine WHEN the high places are ACTUALLY taken down. Actually, the passage (vv 8-14) after these three verses shows God's response to Solomon. (More specifically, notice the high places mentioned in I Kings 11:33).
2. Read Ecclesiastes and ask yourself if Solomon was ACTUALLY facilitating the purpose and progress of others. Notice if Solomon at the end of the book has head knowledge about God or heart knowledge and is ACTUALLY doing what God wants. Also, read "Is God Judging the U.S.?" from the links list on the right side of this blog and ask yourself if Solomon addressed the four causes from Ezekiel while Solomon was searching in Ecclesiastes.
Next Post
I Kings begins with David being old and near the end of his reign.
"Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him." (I Kings 1:5)
Once again, we have the example of a person facilitating their own purpose and progress at the expense of others. Our tradition sees this as acceptable when it comes to selecting a "leader". We've already seen that God does NOT think this is acceptable and His Word NEVER says LEADERSHIP is attained through campaigning. By the end of the first chapter of Kings, Adonijah appears to accept that Solomon is king.
David's final instructions to Solomon include the following passage:
"That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel." (I Kings 2:4)
Like we saw in yesterday's post, the heart is the metric God uses to measure and value LEADERS.
By the end of I Kings 2, Adonijah and the rest of Solomon's enemies from within Israel are all killed according to justice. Solomon can begin his reign in I Kings 3.
"In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee." (I Kings 3:5)
God is asking the king what he wants. This is God testing what is in Solomon's heart. Solomon's response?
"Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?" (I Kings 3:9)
Solomon's request is to be able to facilitate the purpose and progress of others! His request focuses on the cause of helping others: his heart!
"And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days." (I Kings 3:11-14)
God blatantly recognizes that Solomon did NOT facilitate his own purpose and progress WHEN HE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT! God says there will be no other king like him. This response from God almost looks like God was willing to do anything and gave to Solomon according to his words (another view at prayer from God's perspective) AND Solomon's request was so good, he either had enough value to get more from God OR the request itself resulted in the ability to get more.
There is another point...Solomon showed he was about facilitating the purpose and progress of others. He is a LEADER. Recall from the previous post on "Understanding and Task", LEADERS are the ONLY people who OUGHT to have power because they don't depend on it like a crutch...they know when to use it. Perhaps Solomon was given so much because he proved he didn't depend on it to get things done.
What do you think of this response from God? If you've read this response before, did you remember ALL the parts of it? How would you have responded if God had said this to you? What would you have been able to repeat 1 year later? 5 years later? 10 years later? 30 years later? Wasn't it COMPLETELY positive?
Actually, the ending of God's response comes with a warning to "keep my statutes and my commandments". Did Solomon keep God's statutes and commandments? What happened to Solomon's heart? For now, let's look at the short version...
Part of God's statutes and commandments say:
"When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among they brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall hencerforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:" (Deuteronomy 17:14-19)
A couple of KEY POINTS:
-God is telling Israel they will want a king like the other nations...this does NOT mean it was in God's Will.
-God says HE will choose the king (oh oh for Absalom and Adonijah...and others!)
-God says the king should read this law constantly.
-God specifically says NOT to get horses from Egypt, make silver abundant, and have a lot of wives BECAUSE they will turn the king's HEART away...
And we all know how important the heart of a king is to God.
What did Solomon do?
"And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones..." (I Kings 10:27)
"And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt..." (I Kings 10:28)
"But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father." (I Kings 11:1-4)
Solomon did NOT listen to God's warning and Solomon's heart was turned away.
For those who want to delve more into Solomon before the future week long series, here are two areas to look at:
1. Read the next three verses of I Kings 11 (vv 5-7) and determine WHEN the high places are ACTUALLY taken down. Actually, the passage (vv 8-14) after these three verses shows God's response to Solomon. (More specifically, notice the high places mentioned in I Kings 11:33).
2. Read Ecclesiastes and ask yourself if Solomon was ACTUALLY facilitating the purpose and progress of others. Notice if Solomon at the end of the book has head knowledge about God or heart knowledge and is ACTUALLY doing what God wants. Also, read "Is God Judging the U.S.?" from the links list on the right side of this blog and ask yourself if Solomon addressed the four causes from Ezekiel while Solomon was searching in Ecclesiastes.
Next Post
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Leadership: The Heart of a Leader
My professional background deals with what and how people value and measure performance. This is called "metrics". Everyone has a model for everything. Everyone has a process they use to value and measure performance in every area. Whether people are aware of their metrics or not is another issue...
God's metric when it comes to valuing kings is the heart.
First let's look at the specific circumstances surrounding Saul's official loss of his kingship. God told Saul (through Samuel) to wipe out the Amalekites: "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." (I Samuel 15:3)
Saul smites the Amalekites and brings back alive some animals and Agag (the king of Amalek). Samuel visits Saul. Samuel sees and hears that Saul didn't do what God told Saul to do. Samuel confronts Saul. Saul's response?
"And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal." (I Samuel 15:20-21)
Saul says HE obeyed God...it was the people who disobeyed God! Saul is facilitating his own purpose and progress at the expense of the people. Saul has been shown he did NOT obey God...and Saul's response was to claim he did and blame the people.
"And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king." (I Samuel 15:22-23)
God officially rejects Saul as king because he was rebellious and stubborn. Saul was confronted with being wrong and Saul's response was to justify himself instead of confessing and repenting. I call this the "I CAN'T BE WRONG" heart. This heart attitude is IMMEDIATELY obvious when someone is confronted and/or corrected.
"And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord." (I Samuel 15:24-25)
It takes Samuel stating God has reject Saul before he confesses and repents! Is it too late?
"And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strenght of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent." (I Samuel 15:26-29)
Saul tried to appeal to Samuel through the Physical...he grabbed Samuel's mantle. God is giving the kingdom to someone who is "better"...to someone who will obey God. Even though Saul confesses and repents, he still has to pay by losing the kingship. Justice demands this. Saul asks Samuel to worship with him. Samuel won't worship with Saul. Why?
"Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God. So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the Lord." (I Samuel 15:30-31)
Now Samuel does worship with Saul. Why? The first time Saul asked, it was tied to keeping the kingship..."pardon (overlook) my sin". This time Saul admits his sin (and accepts the justice of losing the kingship), so worship is for the sake of glorifying God. Look at it this way...Saul's attitude (confession and worship) is tied to his salvation. Saul's actions are tied to his reward. Saul tried to link them and Samuel rejected Saul. Now Saul unlinks them. Saul's attitude gets right by accepting the punishment for his actions. Saul confesses with the right attitude and Samuel accepts it by worshiping with Saul. However, Saul still has to pay according to justice (reward) by losing the kingship.
This is still true today. Jesus' death on the cross pays for our salvation...for us disobeying God's Word and Voice (GRACE). It does not pay for the injustice that we do to others...everyone still has to pay for that. Currently, some Christians believe that they don't have to pay for the injustice they do to others...the Word of God says EVERYONE is rewarded (recompensed both good and bad) for their works. Man-made tradition tries to use God's Righteousness (God's Works) for Salvation in place of our works for reward so that we can have the same heart attitude as Saul. The Bible DOESN'T say this.
"Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, As they sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal." (I Samuel 15:32-33)
Notice Samuel is focused on justice. Throughout Saul's interaction with Samuel, we have seen how prayer works. In today's post, Saul keeps appealing to Samuel by saying, "I pray" and sometimes Samuel responds like Saul wants...sometimes he doesn't. Samuel is being guided by justice...to the point that Samuel lets Agag know WHY he is going to die: justice for what Agag did.
"Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel." (I Samuel 15:34-35)
First, Samuel mourns for Saul. Samuel doesn't personally hate Saul...Samuel is obeying God and equaling out justice. This is nothing personal, otherwise Samuel wouldn't mourn for Saul. Second, repent means to turn away. The Lord turns away from ever making a king like Saul again. Notice, there is NOT a confession step. Confession is required when a person sins. God did NOT sin by making Saul king. As we saw in yesterday's post, God responded to the request of Israel...warned them...and dealt with everyone's heart. God did everything possible. God did NOT sin...but He can still repent.
Samuel is led by God to find the next king. All the sons from Jesse's family are presented to Saul. Saul is thinking it is the oldest. However, God speaks to Samuel about His metric:
"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature: because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (I Samuel 16:7)
God does NOT go by appearance. God goes by the HEART! Remember, God hardened Pharaoh's heart. God gave Saul another heart. God touched the hearts of a band of men to support Saul. Samuel told everyone to serve the Lord with all your heart. Now God is looking on the heart for a person who is after God's own heart. God measures and values our performance by our heart. The heart is the cause of our actions. The actions aren't what God measures and values...they PROVE to us what is the CAUSE. Our actions are the EFFECTS of what is TRULY in our heart...regardless of what we say is in our heart.
Even though David gets made a king as a youth, he doesn't reign until he is 30. David marries Saul's daughter. When David is king and brings the ark back, he dances before it.
"Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!" (II Samuel 6:20)
Notice, Michal is ALL about appearance. David's response?
"And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord. And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour." (II Samuel 6:21-22)
David isn't about appearance...he is about God. Appearance is based on man-made tradition. Valuing appearance is valuing the EFFECT. God values the CAUSE.
We saw how Saul handled being confronted with his sin...and it resulted in him losing the kingship. What about David?
II Samuel 11 tells the story of David and Bathsheba. David stays home from war and sees Bathsheba bathing on her roof. David commits adultery with Bathsheba. She becomes pregnant. David tries to cover up the sin by bring Uriah (Bathsheba's husband) back from the war to be with Bathsheba. Uriah sleeps outside because he is thinking about his duty to Israel. David sends orders with Uriah to put Uriah in the front of the fighting and pull back. The leader of the forces (Joab) follows these orders and Uriah is killed in battle. Bathsheba mourns.
"And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." (II Samuel 11:27)
David is in charge of the nation. He constantly makes decisions that result in people getting killed. Why was it wrong to give orders to Joab? Because this decision PERSONALLY benefited David. David was facilitating his own purpose and progress at the expense of his followers (Uriah). David was NOT being a LEADER.
Nathan confronts David with his sin. Nathan gives the word of the Lord to David...it ends with the following:
"Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine own eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun." (II Samuel 12:9-12)
Notice, AGAIN justice is being served. God is telling David (through Nathan) the penalty he must face and WHY...and the reason why has to do with justice. What is David's response?
"And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die." (II Samuel 12:13)
Saul gave an excuse. Saul had the "I CAN'T BE WRONG" heart. David gives NO excuse. David has the "I COULD BE WRONG" heart. David's response AND Nathan's conclusion is given BOTH in one verse. That's pretty short. The result is David still pays (with the death of the child) but he continues to be king...because he is a man after God's own heart. (Again, notice that David is a man after God's own heart. Even though he confesses and repents, David still pays through justice when it comes to reward. The confession and repentance ONLY deal with his fellowship with God...with salvation. The SAME is true today.)
Let's wrap up this teaching on LEADERS and hearts with one more story. Absalom is David's son.
"And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice! And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him. And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel." (II Samuel 15:1-6)
Absalom campaigned to do the king's role...he facilitated his own purpose and progress.
Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
God looks on the heart in order to measure LEADERSHIP.
God does NOT consider people who are stubborn and can't consider they are wrong as worthy of the responsibility of LEADERSHIP.
God sees a LEADER as someone who has a soft heart and is able to be corrected.
How do we measure and value "leaders"?
Next Post
God's metric when it comes to valuing kings is the heart.
First let's look at the specific circumstances surrounding Saul's official loss of his kingship. God told Saul (through Samuel) to wipe out the Amalekites: "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." (I Samuel 15:3)
Saul smites the Amalekites and brings back alive some animals and Agag (the king of Amalek). Samuel visits Saul. Samuel sees and hears that Saul didn't do what God told Saul to do. Samuel confronts Saul. Saul's response?
"And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal." (I Samuel 15:20-21)
Saul says HE obeyed God...it was the people who disobeyed God! Saul is facilitating his own purpose and progress at the expense of the people. Saul has been shown he did NOT obey God...and Saul's response was to claim he did and blame the people.
"And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king." (I Samuel 15:22-23)
God officially rejects Saul as king because he was rebellious and stubborn. Saul was confronted with being wrong and Saul's response was to justify himself instead of confessing and repenting. I call this the "I CAN'T BE WRONG" heart. This heart attitude is IMMEDIATELY obvious when someone is confronted and/or corrected.
"And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord." (I Samuel 15:24-25)
It takes Samuel stating God has reject Saul before he confesses and repents! Is it too late?
"And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strenght of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent." (I Samuel 15:26-29)
Saul tried to appeal to Samuel through the Physical...he grabbed Samuel's mantle. God is giving the kingdom to someone who is "better"...to someone who will obey God. Even though Saul confesses and repents, he still has to pay by losing the kingship. Justice demands this. Saul asks Samuel to worship with him. Samuel won't worship with Saul. Why?
"Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God. So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the Lord." (I Samuel 15:30-31)
Now Samuel does worship with Saul. Why? The first time Saul asked, it was tied to keeping the kingship..."pardon (overlook) my sin". This time Saul admits his sin (and accepts the justice of losing the kingship), so worship is for the sake of glorifying God. Look at it this way...Saul's attitude (confession and worship) is tied to his salvation. Saul's actions are tied to his reward. Saul tried to link them and Samuel rejected Saul. Now Saul unlinks them. Saul's attitude gets right by accepting the punishment for his actions. Saul confesses with the right attitude and Samuel accepts it by worshiping with Saul. However, Saul still has to pay according to justice (reward) by losing the kingship.
This is still true today. Jesus' death on the cross pays for our salvation...for us disobeying God's Word and Voice (GRACE). It does not pay for the injustice that we do to others...everyone still has to pay for that. Currently, some Christians believe that they don't have to pay for the injustice they do to others...the Word of God says EVERYONE is rewarded (recompensed both good and bad) for their works. Man-made tradition tries to use God's Righteousness (God's Works) for Salvation in place of our works for reward so that we can have the same heart attitude as Saul. The Bible DOESN'T say this.
"Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, As they sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal." (I Samuel 15:32-33)
Notice Samuel is focused on justice. Throughout Saul's interaction with Samuel, we have seen how prayer works. In today's post, Saul keeps appealing to Samuel by saying, "I pray" and sometimes Samuel responds like Saul wants...sometimes he doesn't. Samuel is being guided by justice...to the point that Samuel lets Agag know WHY he is going to die: justice for what Agag did.
"Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel." (I Samuel 15:34-35)
First, Samuel mourns for Saul. Samuel doesn't personally hate Saul...Samuel is obeying God and equaling out justice. This is nothing personal, otherwise Samuel wouldn't mourn for Saul. Second, repent means to turn away. The Lord turns away from ever making a king like Saul again. Notice, there is NOT a confession step. Confession is required when a person sins. God did NOT sin by making Saul king. As we saw in yesterday's post, God responded to the request of Israel...warned them...and dealt with everyone's heart. God did everything possible. God did NOT sin...but He can still repent.
Samuel is led by God to find the next king. All the sons from Jesse's family are presented to Saul. Saul is thinking it is the oldest. However, God speaks to Samuel about His metric:
"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature: because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (I Samuel 16:7)
God does NOT go by appearance. God goes by the HEART! Remember, God hardened Pharaoh's heart. God gave Saul another heart. God touched the hearts of a band of men to support Saul. Samuel told everyone to serve the Lord with all your heart. Now God is looking on the heart for a person who is after God's own heart. God measures and values our performance by our heart. The heart is the cause of our actions. The actions aren't what God measures and values...they PROVE to us what is the CAUSE. Our actions are the EFFECTS of what is TRULY in our heart...regardless of what we say is in our heart.
Even though David gets made a king as a youth, he doesn't reign until he is 30. David marries Saul's daughter. When David is king and brings the ark back, he dances before it.
"Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!" (II Samuel 6:20)
Notice, Michal is ALL about appearance. David's response?
"And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord. And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour." (II Samuel 6:21-22)
David isn't about appearance...he is about God. Appearance is based on man-made tradition. Valuing appearance is valuing the EFFECT. God values the CAUSE.
We saw how Saul handled being confronted with his sin...and it resulted in him losing the kingship. What about David?
II Samuel 11 tells the story of David and Bathsheba. David stays home from war and sees Bathsheba bathing on her roof. David commits adultery with Bathsheba. She becomes pregnant. David tries to cover up the sin by bring Uriah (Bathsheba's husband) back from the war to be with Bathsheba. Uriah sleeps outside because he is thinking about his duty to Israel. David sends orders with Uriah to put Uriah in the front of the fighting and pull back. The leader of the forces (Joab) follows these orders and Uriah is killed in battle. Bathsheba mourns.
"And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." (II Samuel 11:27)
David is in charge of the nation. He constantly makes decisions that result in people getting killed. Why was it wrong to give orders to Joab? Because this decision PERSONALLY benefited David. David was facilitating his own purpose and progress at the expense of his followers (Uriah). David was NOT being a LEADER.
Nathan confronts David with his sin. Nathan gives the word of the Lord to David...it ends with the following:
"Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine own eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun." (II Samuel 12:9-12)
Notice, AGAIN justice is being served. God is telling David (through Nathan) the penalty he must face and WHY...and the reason why has to do with justice. What is David's response?
"And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die." (II Samuel 12:13)
Saul gave an excuse. Saul had the "I CAN'T BE WRONG" heart. David gives NO excuse. David has the "I COULD BE WRONG" heart. David's response AND Nathan's conclusion is given BOTH in one verse. That's pretty short. The result is David still pays (with the death of the child) but he continues to be king...because he is a man after God's own heart. (Again, notice that David is a man after God's own heart. Even though he confesses and repents, David still pays through justice when it comes to reward. The confession and repentance ONLY deal with his fellowship with God...with salvation. The SAME is true today.)
Let's wrap up this teaching on LEADERS and hearts with one more story. Absalom is David's son.
"And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice! And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him. And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel." (II Samuel 15:1-6)
Absalom campaigned to do the king's role...he facilitated his own purpose and progress.
Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
God looks on the heart in order to measure LEADERSHIP.
God does NOT consider people who are stubborn and can't consider they are wrong as worthy of the responsibility of LEADERSHIP.
God sees a LEADER as someone who has a soft heart and is able to be corrected.
How do we measure and value "leaders"?
Next Post
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Leadership: The Selection Process
Yesterday, we began our Biblical examples of LEADERS with a look at the circumstances surrounding Israel's first king who was an Israelite. We saw that it was NOT God's Will that Israel had a king. We also saw how God views prayer. Today, we are going to see how the process of selecting a LEADER according to God and how this first king turned out.
God selects Saul to be the first king and even though it was not His Will for Israel to have a king, He is going to help them as much as possible. In fact, He even changes Saul's heart:
"And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day." (I Samuel 10:9)
However, the people still don't know who the king is...how do they select a king? Do they vote? During the "selection of a king" process, Samuel makes sure everyone knows how and why Israel got to this point AND what God thinks about it:
"And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands." (I Samuel 10:19)
Samuel again states this is NOT God's Will and the following process is due to rejecting God as LEADER. The people are separate by tribes...
"And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they enquired of the Lord further, if the man should yet come thither. And the Lord answered, Behold he hath hid himself among the stuff. And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. (I Samuel 10:20-23)
Samuel selects the king in response to God telling him.
KEY POINT: Saul did not campaign for king!!!!!!
God selected the king...in fact, Saul WASN'T EVEN PRESENT WHEN HE WAS SELECTED AS KING!
Remember, a LEADER is one who facilitates the purpose and progress of OTHERS. If a society selects its "leaders" by an election, then the "leader" is facilitating THEIR OWN purpose and progress. THAT type of process GUARANTEES you will NEVER get a TRUE LEADER in charge! Notice in the Bible what happens when "leaders" campaign to become in charge.
"And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king." (I Samuel 10:24)
God selected someone whose appearance was like none other. Saul was a head taller than everyone. (Notice, the "God save the king" phrase comes from the Bible.)
"Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched." (I Samuel 10:25-26)
Samuel documents the events. God provides support to Saul. So, God has done everything possible to help this king succeed. If he fails it WON'T be due to God. In fact, Samuel continues the warn the people in order to help them be successful.
"If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord your God: But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers. Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes. Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking you a king. So Samuel called unto the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel." (I Samuel 12:14-18)
Samuel establishes that he is on God's side.
"And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart; And turn ye not aside for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain. For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people. Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and right way: Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king." (I Samuel 12:19-25)
Now the people have been warned. Notice, God changed Saul's heart and a group of supporters. Samuel encourages the rest of the people to serve the Lord with all their heart. So, EVERYONE'S heart has been addressed. God (through Samuel) has done EVERYTHING to help a situation that was NOT in His Will work as well as possible. If this fails, there is NO WAY it can be God's fault. In fact, it would ONLY fail if people INTENTIONALLY chose to follow IS instead of OUGHT.
"Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent." (I Samuel 13:1-2)
So, now we are just two years into Saul's reign...
"And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of the offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering." (I Samuel 13:9-12)
Saul decides to "force" himself to offer the burnt offering.
"And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee." (I Samuel 13:13-14)
TWO HUGE POINTS:
Samuel declares that God no longer sees Saul as king...even though the people might still see Saul as king. Do we know how God views our traditions? Or do we think we can make God honor OUR traditions?
Samuel says that God is going to select a king who is after GOD'S own heart. God did His best helping everyone have a good heart. This failed because the "leader" ended up being about himself after two years. God's solution is to find a king whose heart is ALREADY towards God.
LEADERS have to be selected and continue to facilitate the purpose and progress of others. Everything that makes a "leader" focus on appearance (man-made tradition) is going to facilitate their own purpose and progress.
Next Post
God selects Saul to be the first king and even though it was not His Will for Israel to have a king, He is going to help them as much as possible. In fact, He even changes Saul's heart:
"And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day." (I Samuel 10:9)
However, the people still don't know who the king is...how do they select a king? Do they vote? During the "selection of a king" process, Samuel makes sure everyone knows how and why Israel got to this point AND what God thinks about it:
"And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands." (I Samuel 10:19)
Samuel again states this is NOT God's Will and the following process is due to rejecting God as LEADER. The people are separate by tribes...
"And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they enquired of the Lord further, if the man should yet come thither. And the Lord answered, Behold he hath hid himself among the stuff. And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. (I Samuel 10:20-23)
Samuel selects the king in response to God telling him.
KEY POINT: Saul did not campaign for king!!!!!!
God selected the king...in fact, Saul WASN'T EVEN PRESENT WHEN HE WAS SELECTED AS KING!
Remember, a LEADER is one who facilitates the purpose and progress of OTHERS. If a society selects its "leaders" by an election, then the "leader" is facilitating THEIR OWN purpose and progress. THAT type of process GUARANTEES you will NEVER get a TRUE LEADER in charge! Notice in the Bible what happens when "leaders" campaign to become in charge.
"And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king." (I Samuel 10:24)
God selected someone whose appearance was like none other. Saul was a head taller than everyone. (Notice, the "God save the king" phrase comes from the Bible.)
"Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched." (I Samuel 10:25-26)
Samuel documents the events. God provides support to Saul. So, God has done everything possible to help this king succeed. If he fails it WON'T be due to God. In fact, Samuel continues the warn the people in order to help them be successful.
"If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord your God: But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers. Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes. Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking you a king. So Samuel called unto the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel." (I Samuel 12:14-18)
Samuel establishes that he is on God's side.
"And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart; And turn ye not aside for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain. For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people. Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and right way: Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king." (I Samuel 12:19-25)
Now the people have been warned. Notice, God changed Saul's heart and a group of supporters. Samuel encourages the rest of the people to serve the Lord with all their heart. So, EVERYONE'S heart has been addressed. God (through Samuel) has done EVERYTHING to help a situation that was NOT in His Will work as well as possible. If this fails, there is NO WAY it can be God's fault. In fact, it would ONLY fail if people INTENTIONALLY chose to follow IS instead of OUGHT.
"Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent." (I Samuel 13:1-2)
So, now we are just two years into Saul's reign...
"And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of the offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering." (I Samuel 13:9-12)
Saul decides to "force" himself to offer the burnt offering.
"And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee." (I Samuel 13:13-14)
TWO HUGE POINTS:
Samuel declares that God no longer sees Saul as king...even though the people might still see Saul as king. Do we know how God views our traditions? Or do we think we can make God honor OUR traditions?
Samuel says that God is going to select a king who is after GOD'S own heart. God did His best helping everyone have a good heart. This failed because the "leader" ended up being about himself after two years. God's solution is to find a king whose heart is ALREADY towards God.
LEADERS have to be selected and continue to facilitate the purpose and progress of others. Everything that makes a "leader" focus on appearance (man-made tradition) is going to facilitate their own purpose and progress.
Next Post
Monday, April 21, 2008
Leadership: God or Kings?
Last week, we covered the definition of LEADER. (The series began with this post.) This week we will look at examples from the Bible.
The first thing most people think about in the Bible when you say "leader" is "king".
Technically, Israel's first experience with a king was in Egypt: "And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt." (Genesis 41:46)
Israel were slaves most of the time they spent in Egypt under Pharaoh. If you read Exodus, you will see spending hundreds of years in slavery and being miraculously delivered out of bondage did NOT hinder them from considering going back. This is important to realize, because it gives some perspective on the story of how Israel ended up with their first king...
After Israel was delivered out from under a king (Pharaoh), God led them in the desert: "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people." (Exodus 13:21-22)
Moses was their judge during this time. When Moses died, Joshua became their judge...and they entered the promised land. When Joshua died, Israel was led by God through a series of judges. However, all of this changes in I Samuel 8:
"And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his first-born was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment." (vv. 1-3)
KEY POINTS
-Samuel's sons were already judges in Beersheba and they had proven they weren't worthy of being LEADER...they facilitated their OWN purpose and progress by taking bribes.
-Why didn't Samuel know this?
-Did Samuel know this and was giving them the chance to prove themselves?
-What is the peoples' solution?
"Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and they sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like the nations." (vv 4-5)
KEY POINTS
-The ELDERS of Israel ask Samuel for a king!
-The ELDERS of Israel WANTED to be like the OTHER nations.
-Notice, the first half of what they said was the ISSUE ("sons walk not in thy ways"), the second half was a SOLUTION ("make us a king to judge us like the nations").
-It is great to identify the ISSUE. However, if we get locked into a SOLUTION of our own making, then we are NOT relying on God.
"But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them." (vv. 6-7)
KEY POINTS
-Normally, I don't interrupt God, but I don't want us to lose the HUGE insight these verses give us before we get more HUGE insight into God.
-Samuel is displeased with their SOLUTION...not the issue (because he knew the issue was a fact).
-Samuel PRAYS to God.
-Here is the link to the prayer series. The summary is that prayer involves four steps: 1)Praising God, 2)Building faith, 3)Referencing justice, 4)Making a request. The making of the request OUGHT to be the statement of your will that you want to use the value you've obtained through justice. It OUGHT NOT be the specific SOLUTION, otherwise, you are relying on yourself and limiting God's ability to solve the problem. (I realize this sounds different that what you've probably heard about prayer, but every other explanation contradicts the Bible. Before you reach a conclusion, read the prayer series.)
-GOD IS SHOWING SAMUEL (AND US) HOW HE HANDLES PRAYER!!!!...and wants Samuel to act in HIS place in this story.
-God "hearkens unto the people in ALL that they say".
-God says the people HAVEN'T rejected Samuel, but God Himself (because the people created their own solution instead of leaving it to God).
-God says the SOLUTION of the people will lead to God NOT reigning over them.
Now, back to God...He is still speaking:
"According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them." (vv. 8-9)
KEY POINTS
-God is showing the role of "justice" when He says "according to all the works".
-God is going back to when they were brought out of Egypt...God has been leading them "officially" since that day.
-God is giving the WHY...He is not hiding WHY He's doing what He is doing from Samuel OR US!
-MY FAVORITE PART: God tells Samuel to protest! God is telling Samuel to disagree (give them resistance) AND do what they ask. God KNOWS this is a bad decision on the part of Israel. This doesn't mean God just does it...that would be unjust. God shares His perspective. That doesn't mean God just overrides their will to do the right thing...that would be unjust. God shares His perspective AND does what is the will of the individual AFTER the individual has had an OPPORTUNITY to listen...it is not up to God whether the individual ACTUALLY listens. God ESPECIALLY speaks to us if what we are asking isn't right! God ALWAYS reaches out to us when we are wrong.
-God also tells Samuel to SHOW them what manner of king will reign over them. This will be in sharp CONTRAST to God and allow the people to state their will with full knowledge.
-God has made them aware AFTER they state their will AND then let's them KNOWINGLY state their will.
-When you pray, make sure you AREN'T stating a SOLUTION. You want to give God room to work and prove YOU are trusting God.
-Whether you state a SOLUTION or not, make sure you take time DURING your prayer to hear from God because after you state your will, God will give you more insight...but YOU have to be willing to listen. (Watch people pray if you don't believe most people still consider prayer to be a one-way conversation...)
"And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said this will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you:..." (vv 9-10)
Then Samuel goes through a list that includes:
-He will take your sons for himself for the KING'S: chariots, horsemen, harvest, and instruments of war.
-He will take of your daughters to be cooks.
-He will take of your property and give to his servants.
-He will take a tenth of your seed and give to his officers and servants.
-He will take your servants and put them to work.
-He will take a tenth of your sheep.
-You will be his servants.
This list shows that the king is NOT a LEADER...everything is going to facilitate the king's purpose and progress at the expense of the "followers". Then Samuel concludes the list with a warning:
"And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day." (v. 18)
This arrangement was NOT in God's Will! God did NOT want Israel to be like the other nations and have a king. Anyone who preaches or teaches that God wanted Israel to have a king is contradicting the Bible. What was the peoples' response to this list and warning?
"Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles." (v. 19)
Notice the people have stated their will they want a man in place of God...they want a man to do the things that they had relied on God for SO THAT they could be like other nations. They had God on their side (more than that, as their LEADER!) and they chose the way of the world. Remember, the Israelites who made it out of bondage to the king of Egypt were willing to go back into bondage. That ALSO was an example of how people value the world ("pots of meat") over following God. Perhaps an Israelite king who would put them in "bondage" didn't look so bad compared to the last king they had...
"And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city." (vv. 21-22)
God did NOT intend for us to be led by a king.
God did not intend for us to be led by a human.
God intended for us to be led by Him and today that is known as GRACE.
Next Post
The first thing most people think about in the Bible when you say "leader" is "king".
Technically, Israel's first experience with a king was in Egypt: "And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt." (Genesis 41:46)
Israel were slaves most of the time they spent in Egypt under Pharaoh. If you read Exodus, you will see spending hundreds of years in slavery and being miraculously delivered out of bondage did NOT hinder them from considering going back. This is important to realize, because it gives some perspective on the story of how Israel ended up with their first king...
After Israel was delivered out from under a king (Pharaoh), God led them in the desert: "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people." (Exodus 13:21-22)
Moses was their judge during this time. When Moses died, Joshua became their judge...and they entered the promised land. When Joshua died, Israel was led by God through a series of judges. However, all of this changes in I Samuel 8:
"And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his first-born was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment." (vv. 1-3)
KEY POINTS
-Samuel's sons were already judges in Beersheba and they had proven they weren't worthy of being LEADER...they facilitated their OWN purpose and progress by taking bribes.
-Why didn't Samuel know this?
-Did Samuel know this and was giving them the chance to prove themselves?
-What is the peoples' solution?
"Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and they sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like the nations." (vv 4-5)
KEY POINTS
-The ELDERS of Israel ask Samuel for a king!
-The ELDERS of Israel WANTED to be like the OTHER nations.
-Notice, the first half of what they said was the ISSUE ("sons walk not in thy ways"), the second half was a SOLUTION ("make us a king to judge us like the nations").
-It is great to identify the ISSUE. However, if we get locked into a SOLUTION of our own making, then we are NOT relying on God.
"But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them." (vv. 6-7)
KEY POINTS
-Normally, I don't interrupt God, but I don't want us to lose the HUGE insight these verses give us before we get more HUGE insight into God.
-Samuel is displeased with their SOLUTION...not the issue (because he knew the issue was a fact).
-Samuel PRAYS to God.
-Here is the link to the prayer series. The summary is that prayer involves four steps: 1)Praising God, 2)Building faith, 3)Referencing justice, 4)Making a request. The making of the request OUGHT to be the statement of your will that you want to use the value you've obtained through justice. It OUGHT NOT be the specific SOLUTION, otherwise, you are relying on yourself and limiting God's ability to solve the problem. (I realize this sounds different that what you've probably heard about prayer, but every other explanation contradicts the Bible. Before you reach a conclusion, read the prayer series.)
-GOD IS SHOWING SAMUEL (AND US) HOW HE HANDLES PRAYER!!!!...and wants Samuel to act in HIS place in this story.
-God "hearkens unto the people in ALL that they say".
-God says the people HAVEN'T rejected Samuel, but God Himself (because the people created their own solution instead of leaving it to God).
-God says the SOLUTION of the people will lead to God NOT reigning over them.
Now, back to God...He is still speaking:
"According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them." (vv. 8-9)
KEY POINTS
-God is showing the role of "justice" when He says "according to all the works".
-God is going back to when they were brought out of Egypt...God has been leading them "officially" since that day.
-God is giving the WHY...He is not hiding WHY He's doing what He is doing from Samuel OR US!
-MY FAVORITE PART: God tells Samuel to protest! God is telling Samuel to disagree (give them resistance) AND do what they ask. God KNOWS this is a bad decision on the part of Israel. This doesn't mean God just does it...that would be unjust. God shares His perspective. That doesn't mean God just overrides their will to do the right thing...that would be unjust. God shares His perspective AND does what is the will of the individual AFTER the individual has had an OPPORTUNITY to listen...it is not up to God whether the individual ACTUALLY listens. God ESPECIALLY speaks to us if what we are asking isn't right! God ALWAYS reaches out to us when we are wrong.
-God also tells Samuel to SHOW them what manner of king will reign over them. This will be in sharp CONTRAST to God and allow the people to state their will with full knowledge.
-God has made them aware AFTER they state their will AND then let's them KNOWINGLY state their will.
-When you pray, make sure you AREN'T stating a SOLUTION. You want to give God room to work and prove YOU are trusting God.
-Whether you state a SOLUTION or not, make sure you take time DURING your prayer to hear from God because after you state your will, God will give you more insight...but YOU have to be willing to listen. (Watch people pray if you don't believe most people still consider prayer to be a one-way conversation...)
"And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said this will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you:..." (vv 9-10)
Then Samuel goes through a list that includes:
-He will take your sons for himself for the KING'S: chariots, horsemen, harvest, and instruments of war.
-He will take of your daughters to be cooks.
-He will take of your property and give to his servants.
-He will take a tenth of your seed and give to his officers and servants.
-He will take your servants and put them to work.
-He will take a tenth of your sheep.
-You will be his servants.
This list shows that the king is NOT a LEADER...everything is going to facilitate the king's purpose and progress at the expense of the "followers". Then Samuel concludes the list with a warning:
"And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day." (v. 18)
This arrangement was NOT in God's Will! God did NOT want Israel to be like the other nations and have a king. Anyone who preaches or teaches that God wanted Israel to have a king is contradicting the Bible. What was the peoples' response to this list and warning?
"Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles." (v. 19)
Notice the people have stated their will they want a man in place of God...they want a man to do the things that they had relied on God for SO THAT they could be like other nations. They had God on their side (more than that, as their LEADER!) and they chose the way of the world. Remember, the Israelites who made it out of bondage to the king of Egypt were willing to go back into bondage. That ALSO was an example of how people value the world ("pots of meat") over following God. Perhaps an Israelite king who would put them in "bondage" didn't look so bad compared to the last king they had...
"And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city." (vv. 21-22)
God did NOT intend for us to be led by a king.
God did not intend for us to be led by a human.
God intended for us to be led by Him and today that is known as GRACE.
Next Post
Friday, April 18, 2008
Leader: Parent and Pastor Examples
Parenting is the most obvious example. Before children can reason, the only way you can lead them is by being a boss. You can’t really explain to them what they should do. They learn by getting punished or denied a value because of what they didn’t do.
If the goal of the parents is to raise the child into becoming self sufficient, they will first approach the child from a LEADER perspective. They will reason with the child. They will account for uniqueness and determine what motivates the child. If the child doesn’t respond, then the parents will approach the child as a BOSS. For instance, the parent may first try to show the child why it would be best for him to stop bothering his sister before physically separating the child from his sister.
I realize being a BOSS is easier for the parents. They get what they personally want more quickly. They don’t have to give a reason. However, if the parents fail to adjust over time, the child may end up not valuing growth, thinking, or morality. Worse yet, Justice may demand that God act like a BOSS with the parents! After all, the parents are showing God how they want to be led by their Heavenly Father.
Another example deals with church leadership. For instance, how does the "leader" of your church motivate people to tithe? The "force" method would just take it out of your paycheck. The BOSS method would tell you it is a law. They would tell you to do it and appeal to your emotions through guilt.
The LEADER would realize tithing is a principle. He would appeal to your best interests by showing you what is in it for you. He would use reason and explain the value you get.
Tithing is part of The Law. We are under no obligation to tithe because we are not under The Law. However, the principle of tithing is true. God blesses those who tithe and have a good attitude. Tithing follows the Reward Model.
Remember, the Spiritual aspect is most important to God. The giving of money to God is an EFFECT of a Spiritual cause. Actually, it always was…it’s just that now we have the opportunity to be blessed because it is not a law, it is a principle.
There are a lot of things that Jesus tells us to do for our benefit, but people seem to still interpret it as a law and use it as a threat…next week we will look at the Bible for examples including Jesus’ leadership style.
Next Post
If the goal of the parents is to raise the child into becoming self sufficient, they will first approach the child from a LEADER perspective. They will reason with the child. They will account for uniqueness and determine what motivates the child. If the child doesn’t respond, then the parents will approach the child as a BOSS. For instance, the parent may first try to show the child why it would be best for him to stop bothering his sister before physically separating the child from his sister.
I realize being a BOSS is easier for the parents. They get what they personally want more quickly. They don’t have to give a reason. However, if the parents fail to adjust over time, the child may end up not valuing growth, thinking, or morality. Worse yet, Justice may demand that God act like a BOSS with the parents! After all, the parents are showing God how they want to be led by their Heavenly Father.
Another example deals with church leadership. For instance, how does the "leader" of your church motivate people to tithe? The "force" method would just take it out of your paycheck. The BOSS method would tell you it is a law. They would tell you to do it and appeal to your emotions through guilt.
The LEADER would realize tithing is a principle. He would appeal to your best interests by showing you what is in it for you. He would use reason and explain the value you get.
Tithing is part of The Law. We are under no obligation to tithe because we are not under The Law. However, the principle of tithing is true. God blesses those who tithe and have a good attitude. Tithing follows the Reward Model.
Remember, the Spiritual aspect is most important to God. The giving of money to God is an EFFECT of a Spiritual cause. Actually, it always was…it’s just that now we have the opportunity to be blessed because it is not a law, it is a principle.
There are a lot of things that Jesus tells us to do for our benefit, but people seem to still interpret it as a law and use it as a threat…next week we will look at the Bible for examples including Jesus’ leadership style.
Next Post
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Leaders Acting Like Bosses
Every job is a combination of task aspects and understanding aspects.
Tasks are the things that anyone can do. These aspects can be written down and tend to be physical. For example, although it is not completely a task job, you can write a description for a janitor. For the most part, anyone can do this job by following a written description. Task aspects don't involve a lot of intentional thinking.
On the other hand, a teacher's job is mostly understanding. You could try to write down a description for what to do, but it wouldn't take long for something to happen that isn't specifically covered in the description. In order to do this job, the teacher has to intentionally think.
LEADERS OUGHT to handle understanding aspects, because you can't force people to think intentionally. It isn't profitable to stand over these people and threaten them. While, task aspects are an ideal situation for a BOSS, LEADERS can ALSO manage task aspects.
When people who perform tasks don't respond to a LEADER, they could be saying they need a reason. The LEADER can give them one. The BOSS will respond by injecting more energy into the followers through force. The BOSS will inflict pain...
If the follower still doesn't respond to the LEADER, they are saying they are in need of outside energy. It may be necessary for a LEADER to become a BOSS and supply that energy. However, this is done in LOVE. That is, this is done with an attitude that benefits the follower and the LEADER doesn't get offended or feel disrespected if the follower doesn't respond.
If the follower can't or doesn't respond to reason/logic, then the ONLY option is acting as a BOSS. This occurs when the individual lacks understanding, purpose, or time. The LEADER is actually doing the follower a favor by using force. However, the LEADER now has the responsibility of being right, because if they are wrong, justice will require a value from the LEADER. Some examples...
A doctor in an emergency room may need to act as a BOSS when they don't have time to give a reason. A parent can become a BOSS, especially if the child is doing something that will hurt himself in the Long Term. For instance, if a child were going to be hit by a car, you wouldn't reason with the child. You would physically move him or yell at him. However, for most of us, these situations are few and far between.
LOVE is the ULTIMATE attribute. LOVE guides LEADERS.
LOVE is the giving of a value without expecting anything from that person.
LOVE is focused on benefiting others, just as a LEADER facilitates the PURPOSE and PROGRESS of others. What greater value could you give to someone?
The other half of "giving a value" is to "receive negative value". LOVE is also the receiving of a negative value (pain) from someone willingly (without trying to even it out). (Remember Jesus telling us to love our enemies?)
We called bearing pain the EFFECT of being a LEADER.
Next Post
Tasks are the things that anyone can do. These aspects can be written down and tend to be physical. For example, although it is not completely a task job, you can write a description for a janitor. For the most part, anyone can do this job by following a written description. Task aspects don't involve a lot of intentional thinking.
On the other hand, a teacher's job is mostly understanding. You could try to write down a description for what to do, but it wouldn't take long for something to happen that isn't specifically covered in the description. In order to do this job, the teacher has to intentionally think.
LEADERS OUGHT to handle understanding aspects, because you can't force people to think intentionally. It isn't profitable to stand over these people and threaten them. While, task aspects are an ideal situation for a BOSS, LEADERS can ALSO manage task aspects.
When people who perform tasks don't respond to a LEADER, they could be saying they need a reason. The LEADER can give them one. The BOSS will respond by injecting more energy into the followers through force. The BOSS will inflict pain...
If the follower still doesn't respond to the LEADER, they are saying they are in need of outside energy. It may be necessary for a LEADER to become a BOSS and supply that energy. However, this is done in LOVE. That is, this is done with an attitude that benefits the follower and the LEADER doesn't get offended or feel disrespected if the follower doesn't respond.
If the follower can't or doesn't respond to reason/logic, then the ONLY option is acting as a BOSS. This occurs when the individual lacks understanding, purpose, or time. The LEADER is actually doing the follower a favor by using force. However, the LEADER now has the responsibility of being right, because if they are wrong, justice will require a value from the LEADER. Some examples...
A doctor in an emergency room may need to act as a BOSS when they don't have time to give a reason. A parent can become a BOSS, especially if the child is doing something that will hurt himself in the Long Term. For instance, if a child were going to be hit by a car, you wouldn't reason with the child. You would physically move him or yell at him. However, for most of us, these situations are few and far between.
LOVE is the ULTIMATE attribute. LOVE guides LEADERS.
LOVE is the giving of a value without expecting anything from that person.
LOVE is focused on benefiting others, just as a LEADER facilitates the PURPOSE and PROGRESS of others. What greater value could you give to someone?
The other half of "giving a value" is to "receive negative value". LOVE is also the receiving of a negative value (pain) from someone willingly (without trying to even it out). (Remember Jesus telling us to love our enemies?)
We called bearing pain the EFFECT of being a LEADER.
Next Post
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The EFFECT of Leadership
Yesterday, we saw the definition of LEADER is one who facilitates the PURPOSE and PROGRESS of others. (A BOSS is one who facilitates their own PURPOSE and PROGRESS at the expense of others.)
This is the CAUSE of being a LEADER. If you look closely, a lot of people give a definition for LEADER that is an EFFECT...we saw this in the first post in this series with the "Leader vs. Manager" list. What are the EFFECTS of being a LEADER? There is really only one...
A LEADER bears pain, they don't inflict pain.
A BOSS inflicts pain, they don't bear pain.
Unfortunately, a lot of people see inflicting pain as the main benefit of being a "Leader". It seems most people want to be in charge so that they can order people around (for their own benefit). In fact, some people want this so much, they are willing to let others order them around now if it means they will get to order others around later. I call it the "frat mentality"..."I let the seniors abuse me so that someday I can abuse freshmen." OR "I won't question the people in charge so that one day when I'm in charge people won't be able to question me."
I've even heard people rationalize this mentality by calling it the "perks of leadership". There are NO perks with LEADERSHIP. We will see from the Bible that being a LEADER is a responsibility, not an entitlement.
LEADERS don't cause pain by threatening others. They don't enter a situation and look for a way to make everyone feel worse. LEADERS take on the pain of their followers. They enter a crisis and look for ways to make things easier for the followers. They are supposed to be MORE excellent, not less.
Think about that last point for a second...when someone says they deserve "perks" (special privileges) for being in charge, they are saying they ought to be treated as LESS excellent...they believe their life ought to be made easier at the expense of others...usually their followers. In fact, the biggest benefit desired by most people in charge is to be questioned and challenged LESS! They want MORE leeway in making mistakes. They want to be held to a LOWER standard than EVERYONE else...and most "Leadership" books today support this mentality!
The reality is that people in charge who cause their "followers'" pain are REALLY followers themselves! These people in charge are in need of someone else to facilitate their PURPOSE and PROGRESS, which is to feel good about themselves in the short-term. When the BOSS displaces pain, the person to whom they are displacing pain is ACTUALLY the BOSS' LEADER if they bear the pain!
The ULTIMATE LEADER example is Jesus. Did Jesus displace His pain on His followers? Did Jesus bear the pain of His followers?
The reality is that all of us experience pain. We have to give it to someone...and that person is either willing or unwilling to bear our pain. We tend to call the people who are willing to bear our pain: FRIENDS. People who are unwilling to bear pain have two choices: displace it back on the person or pass it on to someone or something else.
Displacing it on the person who initiated the exchange just ramps everyone up...in fact, most people WANT you to displace the pain back on them. Why? So they don't feel guilty. Watch for this next time someone displaces pain...if the person takes it and doesn't displace it back, the initiator will end the exchange by "taking a step back"...this usually takes two forms: apologizing or rationalizing. They'll see that there is no energy coming back and when they feel bad they will say they are sorry. OR once they see there is no energy coming back, they will give a reason why it was right for them to go off in the first place.
This world is full of people displacing their pain onto others. If we have NO ONE who is willing to take it, this world will quickly come to an end. The ONLY way for us to survive in society is for there to exist people willing to bear the pain of others. This is LOVE.
We have seen that Jesus tells us THIS is the main EFFECT of being a Christian! This world NEEDS people with this EFFECT! This world UNDERSTANDS it NEEDS Christians AND THAT is why non-Christians get so mad at Christians who DON'T have that EFFECT.
Think about it...non-Christians UNDERSTAND the EFFECTS of being a Christian! The proof that you are a Christian shouldn't come from other Christians...it should come from non-Christians.
As Christians, we are supposed to UNDERSTAND that Jesus has agreed and is able to bear our pain...so we OUGHT to bear the pain of others and then bring it to Jesus.
Jesus is the ULTIMATE LEADER. He is ULTIMATELY the Person who willingly bears ALL our pain.
Next Post
This is the CAUSE of being a LEADER. If you look closely, a lot of people give a definition for LEADER that is an EFFECT...we saw this in the first post in this series with the "Leader vs. Manager" list. What are the EFFECTS of being a LEADER? There is really only one...
A LEADER bears pain, they don't inflict pain.
A BOSS inflicts pain, they don't bear pain.
Unfortunately, a lot of people see inflicting pain as the main benefit of being a "Leader". It seems most people want to be in charge so that they can order people around (for their own benefit). In fact, some people want this so much, they are willing to let others order them around now if it means they will get to order others around later. I call it the "frat mentality"..."I let the seniors abuse me so that someday I can abuse freshmen." OR "I won't question the people in charge so that one day when I'm in charge people won't be able to question me."
I've even heard people rationalize this mentality by calling it the "perks of leadership". There are NO perks with LEADERSHIP. We will see from the Bible that being a LEADER is a responsibility, not an entitlement.
LEADERS don't cause pain by threatening others. They don't enter a situation and look for a way to make everyone feel worse. LEADERS take on the pain of their followers. They enter a crisis and look for ways to make things easier for the followers. They are supposed to be MORE excellent, not less.
Think about that last point for a second...when someone says they deserve "perks" (special privileges) for being in charge, they are saying they ought to be treated as LESS excellent...they believe their life ought to be made easier at the expense of others...usually their followers. In fact, the biggest benefit desired by most people in charge is to be questioned and challenged LESS! They want MORE leeway in making mistakes. They want to be held to a LOWER standard than EVERYONE else...and most "Leadership" books today support this mentality!
The reality is that people in charge who cause their "followers'" pain are REALLY followers themselves! These people in charge are in need of someone else to facilitate their PURPOSE and PROGRESS, which is to feel good about themselves in the short-term. When the BOSS displaces pain, the person to whom they are displacing pain is ACTUALLY the BOSS' LEADER if they bear the pain!
The ULTIMATE LEADER example is Jesus. Did Jesus displace His pain on His followers? Did Jesus bear the pain of His followers?
The reality is that all of us experience pain. We have to give it to someone...and that person is either willing or unwilling to bear our pain. We tend to call the people who are willing to bear our pain: FRIENDS. People who are unwilling to bear pain have two choices: displace it back on the person or pass it on to someone or something else.
Displacing it on the person who initiated the exchange just ramps everyone up...in fact, most people WANT you to displace the pain back on them. Why? So they don't feel guilty. Watch for this next time someone displaces pain...if the person takes it and doesn't displace it back, the initiator will end the exchange by "taking a step back"...this usually takes two forms: apologizing or rationalizing. They'll see that there is no energy coming back and when they feel bad they will say they are sorry. OR once they see there is no energy coming back, they will give a reason why it was right for them to go off in the first place.
This world is full of people displacing their pain onto others. If we have NO ONE who is willing to take it, this world will quickly come to an end. The ONLY way for us to survive in society is for there to exist people willing to bear the pain of others. This is LOVE.
We have seen that Jesus tells us THIS is the main EFFECT of being a Christian! This world NEEDS people with this EFFECT! This world UNDERSTANDS it NEEDS Christians AND THAT is why non-Christians get so mad at Christians who DON'T have that EFFECT.
Think about it...non-Christians UNDERSTAND the EFFECTS of being a Christian! The proof that you are a Christian shouldn't come from other Christians...it should come from non-Christians.
As Christians, we are supposed to UNDERSTAND that Jesus has agreed and is able to bear our pain...so we OUGHT to bear the pain of others and then bring it to Jesus.
Jesus is the ULTIMATE LEADER. He is ULTIMATELY the Person who willingly bears ALL our pain.
Next Post
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Definition of Leader
In previous posts we saw that God created each of us with unique abilities. We called this the ARE...who God created you to BE.
We also saw that this ARE comes out in four areas: mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical. When the ARE comes out in these areas, we call this the "personality".
The ARE is a CAUSE and the personality is an EFFECT. We can know who we ARE...it takes an eternity to learn a personality. We can know who God is...however, it will take an eternity to learn His Personality.
We've also seen that a personality can be profitable or unprofitable. When the ARE comes out it is profitable. When something other than your ARE (your flesh) comes out it is unprofitable.
So, EVERYONE is "ARE" and "personality"...everyone is PURPOSE and PROGRESS.
When I counsel people, the first thing I do is find out if the problem is PURPOSE: Does the person know who they were created to be? Does the person have an objective? If not, then I work at helping the person determine their PURPOSE.
It the person knows their PURPOSE, then the problem is PROGRESS...they aren't making any progress or they aren't making it fast enough. I help them become more profitable...I help them make PROGRESS.
People who know their PURPOSE and are making acceptable PROGRESS don't need counseling!
This brings us to the definition of "Leader"...
LEADER - One who facilitates the PURPOSE and PROGRESS of others
There are A LOT of ways to "facilitate" the PURPOSE and PROGRESS of others and we will cover these in subsequent posts. For now, notice that the measure of a LEADER is determined by WHOM is benefiting. Notice also, this definition is completely compatible with LOVE. (The giving of a value without expecting anything back from the receiver.)
Some people have identified this and called it "servant leadership". This is like saying "unconditional love"...what kind of love is conditional? What kind of leader ISN'T a servant?
Leadership involves serving. EVERYTHING else is being a boss, a tyrant, a dictator, etc.
Whose PURPOSE and PROGRESS was Hitler facilitating? Whose PURPOSE and PROGRESS was Satan facilitating?
"Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." (Luke 13:1)
This is how the chapter describing Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet begins. After Jesus washes the disciples' feet, the story continues in verse 12:
"So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." (Luke 13:12-15)
Jesus gave them an objective example at the very end of His time on earth that being a LEADER (Master and Lord) means serving others. What immediate benefit did Jesus get from washing the disciples' feet? What immediate benefit did Jesus get from ANYTHING He did?
We will look at more examples of LEADERS from the Bible in subsequent posts. For now, let me state that I tend to categorize people as "Leaders" and "Bosses".
BOSS - One who facilitates their own PURPOSE and PROGRESS at the expense of others.
Which one do you think Jesus was: LEADER or BOSS? Which one do you think Jesus has called you to be? Which one do "Christian" authors tell you to be?
People seem to like the EFFECTS list like the one from yesterday's post for "Leaders vs Managers". My EFFECTS list for "Leaders vs Bosses" has ONLY ONE EFFECT...we will look at that tomorrow so that we can have an objective measure to bring to our Bible study.
Next Post
We also saw that this ARE comes out in four areas: mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical. When the ARE comes out in these areas, we call this the "personality".
The ARE is a CAUSE and the personality is an EFFECT. We can know who we ARE...it takes an eternity to learn a personality. We can know who God is...however, it will take an eternity to learn His Personality.
We've also seen that a personality can be profitable or unprofitable. When the ARE comes out it is profitable. When something other than your ARE (your flesh) comes out it is unprofitable.
So, EVERYONE is "ARE" and "personality"...everyone is PURPOSE and PROGRESS.
When I counsel people, the first thing I do is find out if the problem is PURPOSE: Does the person know who they were created to be? Does the person have an objective? If not, then I work at helping the person determine their PURPOSE.
It the person knows their PURPOSE, then the problem is PROGRESS...they aren't making any progress or they aren't making it fast enough. I help them become more profitable...I help them make PROGRESS.
People who know their PURPOSE and are making acceptable PROGRESS don't need counseling!
This brings us to the definition of "Leader"...
LEADER - One who facilitates the PURPOSE and PROGRESS of others
There are A LOT of ways to "facilitate" the PURPOSE and PROGRESS of others and we will cover these in subsequent posts. For now, notice that the measure of a LEADER is determined by WHOM is benefiting. Notice also, this definition is completely compatible with LOVE. (The giving of a value without expecting anything back from the receiver.)
Some people have identified this and called it "servant leadership". This is like saying "unconditional love"...what kind of love is conditional? What kind of leader ISN'T a servant?
Leadership involves serving. EVERYTHING else is being a boss, a tyrant, a dictator, etc.
Whose PURPOSE and PROGRESS was Hitler facilitating? Whose PURPOSE and PROGRESS was Satan facilitating?
"Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." (Luke 13:1)
This is how the chapter describing Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet begins. After Jesus washes the disciples' feet, the story continues in verse 12:
"So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." (Luke 13:12-15)
Jesus gave them an objective example at the very end of His time on earth that being a LEADER (Master and Lord) means serving others. What immediate benefit did Jesus get from washing the disciples' feet? What immediate benefit did Jesus get from ANYTHING He did?
We will look at more examples of LEADERS from the Bible in subsequent posts. For now, let me state that I tend to categorize people as "Leaders" and "Bosses".
BOSS - One who facilitates their own PURPOSE and PROGRESS at the expense of others.
Which one do you think Jesus was: LEADER or BOSS? Which one do you think Jesus has called you to be? Which one do "Christian" authors tell you to be?
People seem to like the EFFECTS list like the one from yesterday's post for "Leaders vs Managers". My EFFECTS list for "Leaders vs Bosses" has ONLY ONE EFFECT...we will look at that tomorrow so that we can have an objective measure to bring to our Bible study.
Next Post
Monday, April 14, 2008
IS Leader
What is a "Leader"?
Take some time and REALLY think about YOUR definition of a leader.
In my opinion, we are in desperate need of "leaders" because we are currently NOT teaching people what a leader OUGHT to be. The Bible tells us what "Leaders" OUGHT to be. In fact, having "Leaders" would alleviate A LOT of the problems we face today. Instead we have IS "Leaders".
There are A LOT of books written on "Leadership", yet very few ACTUALLY give a definition for "Leader". The ones that do, give a flawed definition. Let's look at a couple of them...
Definition #1: Someone who has followers
This is the most basic and misleading definition. People have "followers" for a variety of reasons and various lengths of time. This definition is easy to disprove, so we now have a more popular candidate...
Definition #2: Someone who has influence over others
This seems to be the current definition by the most popular "Leadership" authors. In fact, in some of these books, "Leadership" is boiled down to "influence". When this definition comes up, I respond with: "If someone slips on a banana peel, that would influence me not to step on it. Is that person my "Leader"?"
A list that is making the rounds contrasts "Leaders" with "Managers"...
Definition #3+:
•Managers administer; leaders innovate.
•Managers ask how and when; leaders ask what and why.
•Managers focus on systems; leaders focus on people.
•Managers maintain; leaders develop.
•Managers rely on control; leaders inspire trust.
•Managers have a short-term perspective; leaders have a long-term perspective.
•Managers accept the status quo; leaders challenge the status quo.
•Managers have an eye on the bottom line; leaders have an eye on the horizon.
•Managers are the classic good soldier; leaders are their own people.
•Managers are a copy; leaders are original.
This is a list of EFFECTS!!!!
We are looking for the DEFINITION of "Leader"...we are looking for the CAUSE!!!!
With all of these definitions, my MAIN question is to ask if Hitler and/or Satan were "Leaders". Look at the "definitions" that have been presented...Hitler and Satan fit as "Leaders".
When I ask this question of people who run "Leadership Institutes" or "Leadership Training", their answer is, "Yes, but Hitler (or Satan) was a bad leader".
The problem is their institute and training session aren't called "Good Leadership Institute" or "Good Leadership Training"...so I respond by asking them when the "Hitler Training" begins. In fact, these contradictory definitions ultimately lend themselves to saying that Hitler had “some good leadership” AND EVERYONE has a little bit of Hitler in them.
Hitler was NOT a "Leader".
Satan was NOT a "Leader".
Be careful how you define "Leader"
Take some time to create your definition of "Leader"...
Tomorrow we will look at a non-contradictory definition of "Leader".
Next Post
Take some time and REALLY think about YOUR definition of a leader.
In my opinion, we are in desperate need of "leaders" because we are currently NOT teaching people what a leader OUGHT to be. The Bible tells us what "Leaders" OUGHT to be. In fact, having "Leaders" would alleviate A LOT of the problems we face today. Instead we have IS "Leaders".
There are A LOT of books written on "Leadership", yet very few ACTUALLY give a definition for "Leader". The ones that do, give a flawed definition. Let's look at a couple of them...
Definition #1: Someone who has followers
This is the most basic and misleading definition. People have "followers" for a variety of reasons and various lengths of time. This definition is easy to disprove, so we now have a more popular candidate...
Definition #2: Someone who has influence over others
This seems to be the current definition by the most popular "Leadership" authors. In fact, in some of these books, "Leadership" is boiled down to "influence". When this definition comes up, I respond with: "If someone slips on a banana peel, that would influence me not to step on it. Is that person my "Leader"?"
A list that is making the rounds contrasts "Leaders" with "Managers"...
Definition #3+:
•Managers administer; leaders innovate.
•Managers ask how and when; leaders ask what and why.
•Managers focus on systems; leaders focus on people.
•Managers maintain; leaders develop.
•Managers rely on control; leaders inspire trust.
•Managers have a short-term perspective; leaders have a long-term perspective.
•Managers accept the status quo; leaders challenge the status quo.
•Managers have an eye on the bottom line; leaders have an eye on the horizon.
•Managers are the classic good soldier; leaders are their own people.
•Managers are a copy; leaders are original.
This is a list of EFFECTS!!!!
We are looking for the DEFINITION of "Leader"...we are looking for the CAUSE!!!!
With all of these definitions, my MAIN question is to ask if Hitler and/or Satan were "Leaders". Look at the "definitions" that have been presented...Hitler and Satan fit as "Leaders".
When I ask this question of people who run "Leadership Institutes" or "Leadership Training", their answer is, "Yes, but Hitler (or Satan) was a bad leader".
The problem is their institute and training session aren't called "Good Leadership Institute" or "Good Leadership Training"...so I respond by asking them when the "Hitler Training" begins. In fact, these contradictory definitions ultimately lend themselves to saying that Hitler had “some good leadership” AND EVERYONE has a little bit of Hitler in them.
Hitler was NOT a "Leader".
Satan was NOT a "Leader".
Be careful how you define "Leader"
Take some time to create your definition of "Leader"...
Tomorrow we will look at a non-contradictory definition of "Leader".
Next Post
Friday, April 11, 2008
HOW We Actually Think
In yesterday's post, we saw HOW we OUGHT to think. To finish this week's topic, let's look at HOW people ACTUALLY think (IS)...
1. Stay unfocused in their objective
EVERYONE has at least one objective...they may not realize it or they don't want you to realize it. The REAL goal of most people is to be unintentional. However, all of the following methods to be unintentional ACTUALLY prove the individual is intentional...their intention is to avoid meta-cognition. There are a lot of ways to appear unintentional:
-Don't identify your objective.
People will tell you they don't have an objective or that they don't believe they are supposed to share it. One of the "buzz words" people use to justify this approach is to say they want to remain "organic"...they want to let whatever is going to happen, happen. However, notice these people get upset when things go wrong. These people get upset when others are "organic" and it affects them.
-Be abstract in everything
Don't define words. Say that we can't and/or aren't supposed to understand what is going on. This mentality results in the contradictory statement: The only thing I know for sure is that you can't know anything for sure. See for yourself. Ask pastors and teachers their definitions of these key words: faith, grace, life, truth, fellowship, love, Godetc.
-Have more than one objective
This gives them a reason to say they CAN'T do anything because every solution that is posed CAN'T solve every problem.
-Treat the EFFECTS and not the CAUSE
People do this naturally. They want EFFECTS so bad they try to get them without the CAUSES. A lot of pastors do this when they preach effects like peace, joy, love, etc. What are the objective, specific CAUSES of these EFFECTS?
-Pursue objectives out of your control (EFFECTS of EFFECTS instead of EFFECTS of a controllable CAUSE)
The most common example of this is when people try to control other people. They want people to like them or give them things or speak well of them, etc.
When people do have a stated objective, they appear to be professional, driven, ambitious...they appear to be a leader. What could go wrong it they have a stated objective?
2. Limit the options being considered (preferably to one)
-Don't allow other options to be considered
In yesterday's post, we saw that we OUGHT to identify ALL the options AND that the ONLY way we could be sure that ALL options were considered is if God revealed them to us. Limiting the considerations of options is not only narrow-minded and manipulative, it is disobedience to God. It is not a sin to CONSIDER an option...however, manipulative people will shut down the discussion by implying it is a sin to consider or discuss an option they don't agree with. The other popular excuse for limiting options is lack of time. People will say, "We don't have time to think about anything else, we have to decide now."
-Allow ONLY one other option to be considered that is blatantly wrong AND imply this is the ONLY other option
The truly manipulative will pose their option and ONLY one other option that is blatantly false. Then they will act like they have considered ALL the options. Notice, this is a contrastive process but its effectiveness was limited in the comparative step. Notice also, the person's option won't be questioned...the attention will always be on how flawed the obviously wrong option is. The obviously flawed argument is called a "strawman". Remember, the ONLY way there can be ONLY two options is that you are looking generally...like the CS Lewis analogy from yesterday. There are two ways to have the tallest building in town: 1)Build yours up OR 2)Tear everyone else's down. Be careful with people who don't define their perspective and/or don't support it. It is a sure sign the person isn't right and someone is going to pay for the bad decision that is about to be made.
I've covered this before, but this strategy appeared in a "Christian" book that has sold over 2 million copies! Joyce Meyer's "Battlefield of the Mind". Chapter 10 of her book presents an explanation for WHY we SHOULDN'T reason! The chapter essentially says that since wrong reasoning leads to confusion, we shouldn't reason at all. The explanation of chapter 10 can be found here.
What she is REALLY saying is since people don't do meta-cognition well, we OUGHT to do man's way of thinking because you CAN'T stop thinking!
So, how does Ms. Meyer SUPPORT her point of view. After all, we have seen that the Bible tells us to think intentionally. She CHANGES the Bible! A "Christian" author supported their point in a book selling 2 million copies by changing the Bible AND NO ONE CARES! Remember what I said about the "halo effect"? This is a modern day example...we are intentionally overlooking abuse of the Bible and focusing on the things about Ms. Meyer that make us comfortable. Here is the passage from my post on this issue:
Reasoning Leads to Confusion
...O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves?...
Matthew 16:8 KJV
This is not a Bible verse!
Ms. Meyer has CHANGED THE BIBLE TO PROVE HER POINT THAT CONTRASTIVE THINKING IS WRONG!!!!!!
Said in a simpler way: Ms. Meyer has used fleshly thinking to prove we shouldn't use fleshly thinking.
This is a contradiction...she needs her flawed method to work in order to prove it is wrong!
The Bible actually says, "O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because you have brought no bread"?
Ms. Meyer replaced a comma with a question mark...and then put ellipses (three dots) AFTER the question mark.
If she wanted to shade the data AND be accurate, she should have put the ellipses BEFORE the question mark to show there was more to the verse BEFORE it hit the question mark.
A lot of people who are comparative with the Bible do this: take the Bible out of context.
However, it was worse than that...she changed the facts.
She took words out of Jesus' mouth that tell us to participate in meta-cognition and changed them so that Jesus is telling us NOT to think intentionally!
3. Don't eliminate ANY options
After more than one option has been identified, people will fight for the belief that we can't know or aren't supposed to know ANYTHING for SURE. They won't eliminate ANY options. Again, this stops a decision from being made.
4. Live with contradiction AND believe you've actually checked for contradictions.
Finally, the ultimate example of man's way of thinking is to live with a contradiction AND believe you've checked it. I covered this in a post titled "Renewing Your Mind". Worse yet, people will say the contradiction OUGHT to be celebrated! They will say the contradiction PROVES we aren't supposed to understand and that it OUGHT to remain a MYSTERY.
My final example for this week concerns the Model for God...
Over eight thousand years ago, philosophers came up with a model for God:
-omnipresent
-omniscient
-omnipotent
They defined "omnipotent" as ALL POWERFUL....There is NOTHING God CANNOT do.
Then they easily proved this model for God is contradictory. "Can God make a rock so heavy He can't lift it?" Therefore, the ONLY conclusion is that God DOESN'T exist.
Review the list at the beginning of this post and notice how this is a perfect example of man's way of thinking. Is there another model for God? The answer is NO because ANY model for God would be less than this one. Where did this model come from? Man's mind!
The result is that for thousands of years, philosophers have been proving the model for God that THEY CREATED is flawed. Wow! Why haven't they spent their time coming up with a non-contradictory model for God? They have spent thousands of years justifying why no other model OUGHT to be considered.
What do you do if you are a pastor or theologian? If you adopt this MAN-MADE model, then the result is God DOESN'T exist...this is BAD for business!
However, if you embrace this model AND want to say "God exists", you have ONLY one option: God meant for us not to understand Him. We can't understand and/or aren't supposed to understand God...but we will spend the rest of our lives explaining to you with logical principles why you HAVE to believe in something you can't understand.
It is cultish to require people to believe in something that you can't or don't explain. They could just as easily believe in something else.
These three "omni" concepts are put together to create a MAN-MADE concept called "sovereignty". "Sovereignty" means "God can do ANYTHING He WANTS".
Some people avoid defining ANY of these terms because the contradictions ABOUND! So, if you have another definition for "sovereignty" please share it. I want to avoid the "strawman" argument, but I haven't heard another definition. It seems every time someone tries to give me a definition of their "improved" explanation of "sovereignty", they end up saying it can't be defined after I ask a couple of questions. So, until a person defines their concept, they AREN'T saying anything different than this traditional concept...even though they want to feel like they have removed the contrdictions. For the rest of this post, I'm going to continue with this GENERAL traditional definition of "sovereignty".
Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther and John Calvin introduced this MAN-MADE doctrine into the church. We have been teaching tradition ever since.
What does GOD say?
What does the Bible say?
We covered this in an earlier post. The summary is that the Bible defines "omnipotent" as "all ruling" (NOT "all powerful"). The Bible DOES NOT contain the word "sovereign" or "sovereignty". In newer translations, the word "sovereign" replaces the word "kingdom" or "realm".
When "omnipotent" is defined according to the Bible, "sovereignty" becomes "doesn't answer to anyone...supreme ruler". This DOES NOT mean this ruler can do ANYTHING! This Supreme Ruler ALWAYS does what is Right and Just...THAT makes Him MORE AWESOME than a god who gets things done by bending the rules, cheating, and other "mysterious" methods.
For example, which basketball player is better: 1)the one who wins because he is allowed to break the rules or 2)the one who wins even though he has to sit in a chair? The MOST AWESOME God is the One who is the Supreme Ruler AND always does what is Right and Just AND is identifiable to all...not the god who is contradictory, bends the rules, and has a Nature that is a mystery. The first answer is a God that is Awesome in EFFECTS. The second answer is a God that is Awesome in CAUSES. The first answer is a God that is Awesome in HAVE. The second answer is a God that is Awesome in ARE...in His Nature. It is man's way of thinking to look to EFFECTS...and make God's Nature something less. The Bible DOESN'T agree with the "man's way of thinking" answer (#1) to this question...
The Bible says God CANNOT lie. God is eternal, therefore He CAN'T cease to exist. God's Will is that ALL are saved, however they aren't. Jesus said we need to pray for God's Will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Clearly, God CAN'T unilaterally do WHATEVER He wants.
However, let's look at what these "sovereignty" people say. They say we CAN'T understand God because He is too big. ACTUALLY that sounds like they are saying God is unable to explain Himself in terms we can understand. the "sovereignty" people are ACTUALLY PROVING that God CAN'T do EVERYTHING.
I have explained how we can objectively and specifically know who God is (ARE) while needing an eternity to know God's Personality. God's Personality is beyond our comprehension...God's Nature is definable, otherwise we wouldn't know if we were worshiping the right God. How are people able to judge you for worshiping the wrong God, yet they can't define who God is? Sounds like man's way of thinking...
Man's way of thinking has created a god that is contradictory and different than the God represented by the Bible AND the ONLY way to feel this contradictory model for God is correct is to adhere to the version of man's way of thinking presented in this post.
Link to New Series on Leadership!
1. Stay unfocused in their objective
EVERYONE has at least one objective...they may not realize it or they don't want you to realize it. The REAL goal of most people is to be unintentional. However, all of the following methods to be unintentional ACTUALLY prove the individual is intentional...their intention is to avoid meta-cognition. There are a lot of ways to appear unintentional:
-Don't identify your objective.
People will tell you they don't have an objective or that they don't believe they are supposed to share it. One of the "buzz words" people use to justify this approach is to say they want to remain "organic"...they want to let whatever is going to happen, happen. However, notice these people get upset when things go wrong. These people get upset when others are "organic" and it affects them.
-Be abstract in everything
Don't define words. Say that we can't and/or aren't supposed to understand what is going on. This mentality results in the contradictory statement: The only thing I know for sure is that you can't know anything for sure. See for yourself. Ask pastors and teachers their definitions of these key words: faith, grace, life, truth, fellowship, love, Godetc.
-Have more than one objective
This gives them a reason to say they CAN'T do anything because every solution that is posed CAN'T solve every problem.
-Treat the EFFECTS and not the CAUSE
People do this naturally. They want EFFECTS so bad they try to get them without the CAUSES. A lot of pastors do this when they preach effects like peace, joy, love, etc. What are the objective, specific CAUSES of these EFFECTS?
-Pursue objectives out of your control (EFFECTS of EFFECTS instead of EFFECTS of a controllable CAUSE)
The most common example of this is when people try to control other people. They want people to like them or give them things or speak well of them, etc.
When people do have a stated objective, they appear to be professional, driven, ambitious...they appear to be a leader. What could go wrong it they have a stated objective?
2. Limit the options being considered (preferably to one)
-Don't allow other options to be considered
In yesterday's post, we saw that we OUGHT to identify ALL the options AND that the ONLY way we could be sure that ALL options were considered is if God revealed them to us. Limiting the considerations of options is not only narrow-minded and manipulative, it is disobedience to God. It is not a sin to CONSIDER an option...however, manipulative people will shut down the discussion by implying it is a sin to consider or discuss an option they don't agree with. The other popular excuse for limiting options is lack of time. People will say, "We don't have time to think about anything else, we have to decide now."
-Allow ONLY one other option to be considered that is blatantly wrong AND imply this is the ONLY other option
The truly manipulative will pose their option and ONLY one other option that is blatantly false. Then they will act like they have considered ALL the options. Notice, this is a contrastive process but its effectiveness was limited in the comparative step. Notice also, the person's option won't be questioned...the attention will always be on how flawed the obviously wrong option is. The obviously flawed argument is called a "strawman". Remember, the ONLY way there can be ONLY two options is that you are looking generally...like the CS Lewis analogy from yesterday. There are two ways to have the tallest building in town: 1)Build yours up OR 2)Tear everyone else's down. Be careful with people who don't define their perspective and/or don't support it. It is a sure sign the person isn't right and someone is going to pay for the bad decision that is about to be made.
I've covered this before, but this strategy appeared in a "Christian" book that has sold over 2 million copies! Joyce Meyer's "Battlefield of the Mind". Chapter 10 of her book presents an explanation for WHY we SHOULDN'T reason! The chapter essentially says that since wrong reasoning leads to confusion, we shouldn't reason at all. The explanation of chapter 10 can be found here.
What she is REALLY saying is since people don't do meta-cognition well, we OUGHT to do man's way of thinking because you CAN'T stop thinking!
So, how does Ms. Meyer SUPPORT her point of view. After all, we have seen that the Bible tells us to think intentionally. She CHANGES the Bible! A "Christian" author supported their point in a book selling 2 million copies by changing the Bible AND NO ONE CARES! Remember what I said about the "halo effect"? This is a modern day example...we are intentionally overlooking abuse of the Bible and focusing on the things about Ms. Meyer that make us comfortable. Here is the passage from my post on this issue:
Reasoning Leads to Confusion
...O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves?...
Matthew 16:8 KJV
This is not a Bible verse!
Ms. Meyer has CHANGED THE BIBLE TO PROVE HER POINT THAT CONTRASTIVE THINKING IS WRONG!!!!!!
Said in a simpler way: Ms. Meyer has used fleshly thinking to prove we shouldn't use fleshly thinking.
This is a contradiction...she needs her flawed method to work in order to prove it is wrong!
The Bible actually says, "O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because you have brought no bread"?
Ms. Meyer replaced a comma with a question mark...and then put ellipses (three dots) AFTER the question mark.
If she wanted to shade the data AND be accurate, she should have put the ellipses BEFORE the question mark to show there was more to the verse BEFORE it hit the question mark.
A lot of people who are comparative with the Bible do this: take the Bible out of context.
However, it was worse than that...she changed the facts.
She took words out of Jesus' mouth that tell us to participate in meta-cognition and changed them so that Jesus is telling us NOT to think intentionally!
3. Don't eliminate ANY options
After more than one option has been identified, people will fight for the belief that we can't know or aren't supposed to know ANYTHING for SURE. They won't eliminate ANY options. Again, this stops a decision from being made.
4. Live with contradiction AND believe you've actually checked for contradictions.
Finally, the ultimate example of man's way of thinking is to live with a contradiction AND believe you've checked it. I covered this in a post titled "Renewing Your Mind". Worse yet, people will say the contradiction OUGHT to be celebrated! They will say the contradiction PROVES we aren't supposed to understand and that it OUGHT to remain a MYSTERY.
My final example for this week concerns the Model for God...
Over eight thousand years ago, philosophers came up with a model for God:
-omnipresent
-omniscient
-omnipotent
They defined "omnipotent" as ALL POWERFUL....There is NOTHING God CANNOT do.
Then they easily proved this model for God is contradictory. "Can God make a rock so heavy He can't lift it?" Therefore, the ONLY conclusion is that God DOESN'T exist.
Review the list at the beginning of this post and notice how this is a perfect example of man's way of thinking. Is there another model for God? The answer is NO because ANY model for God would be less than this one. Where did this model come from? Man's mind!
The result is that for thousands of years, philosophers have been proving the model for God that THEY CREATED is flawed. Wow! Why haven't they spent their time coming up with a non-contradictory model for God? They have spent thousands of years justifying why no other model OUGHT to be considered.
What do you do if you are a pastor or theologian? If you adopt this MAN-MADE model, then the result is God DOESN'T exist...this is BAD for business!
However, if you embrace this model AND want to say "God exists", you have ONLY one option: God meant for us not to understand Him. We can't understand and/or aren't supposed to understand God...but we will spend the rest of our lives explaining to you with logical principles why you HAVE to believe in something you can't understand.
It is cultish to require people to believe in something that you can't or don't explain. They could just as easily believe in something else.
These three "omni" concepts are put together to create a MAN-MADE concept called "sovereignty". "Sovereignty" means "God can do ANYTHING He WANTS".
Some people avoid defining ANY of these terms because the contradictions ABOUND! So, if you have another definition for "sovereignty" please share it. I want to avoid the "strawman" argument, but I haven't heard another definition. It seems every time someone tries to give me a definition of their "improved" explanation of "sovereignty", they end up saying it can't be defined after I ask a couple of questions. So, until a person defines their concept, they AREN'T saying anything different than this traditional concept...even though they want to feel like they have removed the contrdictions. For the rest of this post, I'm going to continue with this GENERAL traditional definition of "sovereignty".
Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther and John Calvin introduced this MAN-MADE doctrine into the church. We have been teaching tradition ever since.
What does GOD say?
What does the Bible say?
We covered this in an earlier post. The summary is that the Bible defines "omnipotent" as "all ruling" (NOT "all powerful"). The Bible DOES NOT contain the word "sovereign" or "sovereignty". In newer translations, the word "sovereign" replaces the word "kingdom" or "realm".
When "omnipotent" is defined according to the Bible, "sovereignty" becomes "doesn't answer to anyone...supreme ruler". This DOES NOT mean this ruler can do ANYTHING! This Supreme Ruler ALWAYS does what is Right and Just...THAT makes Him MORE AWESOME than a god who gets things done by bending the rules, cheating, and other "mysterious" methods.
For example, which basketball player is better: 1)the one who wins because he is allowed to break the rules or 2)the one who wins even though he has to sit in a chair? The MOST AWESOME God is the One who is the Supreme Ruler AND always does what is Right and Just AND is identifiable to all...not the god who is contradictory, bends the rules, and has a Nature that is a mystery. The first answer is a God that is Awesome in EFFECTS. The second answer is a God that is Awesome in CAUSES. The first answer is a God that is Awesome in HAVE. The second answer is a God that is Awesome in ARE...in His Nature. It is man's way of thinking to look to EFFECTS...and make God's Nature something less. The Bible DOESN'T agree with the "man's way of thinking" answer (#1) to this question...
The Bible says God CANNOT lie. God is eternal, therefore He CAN'T cease to exist. God's Will is that ALL are saved, however they aren't. Jesus said we need to pray for God's Will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Clearly, God CAN'T unilaterally do WHATEVER He wants.
However, let's look at what these "sovereignty" people say. They say we CAN'T understand God because He is too big. ACTUALLY that sounds like they are saying God is unable to explain Himself in terms we can understand. the "sovereignty" people are ACTUALLY PROVING that God CAN'T do EVERYTHING.
I have explained how we can objectively and specifically know who God is (ARE) while needing an eternity to know God's Personality. God's Personality is beyond our comprehension...God's Nature is definable, otherwise we wouldn't know if we were worshiping the right God. How are people able to judge you for worshiping the wrong God, yet they can't define who God is? Sounds like man's way of thinking...
Man's way of thinking has created a god that is contradictory and different than the God represented by the Bible AND the ONLY way to feel this contradictory model for God is correct is to adhere to the version of man's way of thinking presented in this post.
Link to New Series on Leadership!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
HOW to Think
This week we have seen that man's way of thinking is cognition. It is in man's nature to think like animals think. This requires NO EFFORT for us to do. However, God WANTS us to choose to REASON...to think intentionally...to participate in meta-cognition. What does this process look like objectively?
I believe God has purposely taken me through the experiences I've had in order to teach others HOW to think. This is the process I use when I help people out of a crisis...because the ONLY time most people are willing to participate in meta-cognition is when they have to...when they have a problem.
1. What is the objective? (What is the desired EFFECT?)
I believe the BIGGEST reason people make their problems worse is because they can't answer this FIRST question. Their lack of an objective is ACTUALLY a BIGGER problem than ANY crisis they could be facing because failure to handle this step well WILL lead to the problem getting worse...by the hand of the person having the problem. There are some subcategories of this step that are important:
-Is there more than one objective?
A lot of people get overwhelmed because they are ACTUALLY trying to pursue more than one objective AND they think it is ONLY one objective. People also try to solve more than one objective at a time. I have stated this more than a hundred times to people in trouble: "I don't know about you, but I'm only able to handle one problem at a time." If there is more than one objective, determine which one is the most pressing and focus on that ALONE...a lot of times several of the other issues go away. If they don't then you work on the next most pressing issue. However, trying to stamp out each "fire" at the same time will ONLY result in NONE of the "fires" going out. Stamp one out COMPLETELY. The others may grow, but you have less "fires" to deal with and are better able to put out the other "fires".
-Is the objective in your control?
Usually, these two sub-questions bring 99% of the focus to an issue. People tend to have several objectives they have been working on and when this question is answered, they realize that only one of them is in their control. If your objective has to do with the weather, the behavior of others, or "solutions" (money, feelings, etc) then you are only going to wear yourself out.
A lot of people pose a solution as an objective. For instance, when I was in the corporate world, people would say our objective was to get more resources. That is a solution to some issue...what is the issue? What is the Desired EFFECT? I would go to the front of the room and write down "More resources"...then I would draw a line above these words and write "ISSUE?". I would ask, "What is the issue?" The response would be something like "we aren't productive enough". I would write "Increase Productivity" as the objective (Desired Effect) and then ask, "How can we solve this issue?" THEN the answers would come pouring out. Now we have a list of twenty and one of them is "More resources".
-Is the objective IS or OUGHT?
Are we trying to determine the CAUSE and solve it to perfection (OUGHT) or are we trying to deal with the symptoms and hope it goes away (IS)? IS solutions don't solve the problem...they just cover the appearance of the problem. The symptoms will come back, maybe in a different form, and there will continue to be more damage in other areas. Determining IS vs OUGHT helps increase the focus of effort on the identified objective.
-How are the terms associated with the objective defined?
We are talking about the meaning of WORDS. We need to understand what all of the participants mean when they use specific words. Jumping over this step almost always results in a dilution of effort and an inability to achieve a solution. This isn't a "right or wrong" issue. This is an opportunity to improve the focus. It doesn't matter how you define the words...as long as the words are defined. If you don't define your terms upfront, you will end up coming back to this step when you hit a dead end or make a bigger mistake because of the lack of communication/focus.
Once the objective is determined, the goal becomes to determine the CAUSE of The Desired Effect.
2. What are your options?
Everything before this stage is preparation. This is REALLY the first step in trying to solve the problem. This step is trying to identify ALL the possible CAUSES. This requires you to be completely comparative and uncomfortable in order to determine ALL possible options. As humans, we are limited in our knowledge. We can't possibly know ALL the possible options. Only God knows ALL the options. So in order to do this step COMPLETELY right, you HAVE to get revelation from God.
It is possible to cover all the options in a general way...the more general the better we can do this. For instance, CS Lewis would say Jesus was either: 1) a liar, 2) a crazy man, or 3) who He said He was (the Son of God). There are no other options...but notice, these options are general...we have a lot of arguments WITHIN each option.
3. What do you know for SURE is NOT possible?
This step occurs ONLY after you have done the previous step. EVERYTHING is questioned. Now you need to actively try to prove each option wrong. In the CS Lewis example from above, Lewis then says someone may say Jesus was ONLY a great moral teacher. Lewis shows this is contradictory because Jesus said He was the Son of God and if THAT isn't true then Jesus lied and couldn't be a great moral teacher.
This is the step that separates the cognition people from the meta-cognition people. In detective stories and medical dramas, this is the key step. Someone questions a piece of information that people assumed was true. This results in people getting very uncomfortable that someone would even consider something was not true...especially a deeply held belief.
This is probably my strongest point. People who know me say that I'm like the TV character "House". I see some of the similarities. He gets told by people that they have checked EVERYTHING. Then he'll question a piece of information and people tell him he's crazy. I have turned that scenario into a running joke. Whenever someone tells me that they have considered everything, what they are saying is, "There is no CAUSE to this observed EFFECT because I checked ALL the possible CAUSES and NONE of them would result in this EFFECT. I'm not trying to argue with you."
Then I laugh and say, "ACTUALLY I want you to be right. Do you realize how rich and famous we will become when we document the FIRST case where CAUSALITY failed? We have a documented case of a COMPLETELY random and CAUSELESS event. Even if it only occurs in that one location on earth, we need to buy the property and set up shop over the only place in the world where the principles of truth (or science) fail to work. I REALLY hope you are right!" Unfortunately, after spending over 20+ years in pursuit of thousands of examples where CAUSALITY seemed to cease, I have to report that NONE of them have been confirmed.
4. WHY is the option NOT possible?
It's not enough to say something is wrong. You have to come up with the reason...you have to present the contradiction in terms of premises. Usually it is one of the premises that are faulty. THIS is the formula for every "mystery/detective" story: you are presented a series of premises that appear true AND don't give the expected EFFECT. Then the story works its way through the premises until you find the one (or more) that are incorrect. The hour long shows are built on secondary CAUSES. The first EFFECT is solved in the first half hour and everyone relaxes...then the problem comes back and we realize we didn't get to the primary CAUSE...just the EFFECT of the primary CAUSE.
IF ALL of the options are identified, then the option that can't be PROVEN wrong HAS to be the CAUSE of The Desired Effect.
If there is more than one option that can't be PROVEN wrong, then you need to determine the information necessary to PROVE one or more of the options wrong...and get that information.
If the problem doesn't resolve itself, then you didn't identify all the options...either because you were afraid to get uncomfortable or you didn't listen to God (GRACE).
Again, notice that the perfect way to do this process involves stating your will, revelation from God, and proving truth.
In yesterday's post, we saw the purpose of "Modeling God" was to prove a non-contradictory explanation of God and salvation. While it is an intellectual explanation, the process of HOW it was done over 14 years follows the process presented in this post. This post covers HOW the four God-given principles (Contrastive, Non-Contradiction, Causality, and Growth) are used TOGETHER to determine TRUTH.
Tomorrow we will look at an explanation for HOW people fail to do this process...HOW do most people ACTUALLY think?
Next Post
I believe God has purposely taken me through the experiences I've had in order to teach others HOW to think. This is the process I use when I help people out of a crisis...because the ONLY time most people are willing to participate in meta-cognition is when they have to...when they have a problem.
1. What is the objective? (What is the desired EFFECT?)
I believe the BIGGEST reason people make their problems worse is because they can't answer this FIRST question. Their lack of an objective is ACTUALLY a BIGGER problem than ANY crisis they could be facing because failure to handle this step well WILL lead to the problem getting worse...by the hand of the person having the problem. There are some subcategories of this step that are important:
-Is there more than one objective?
A lot of people get overwhelmed because they are ACTUALLY trying to pursue more than one objective AND they think it is ONLY one objective. People also try to solve more than one objective at a time. I have stated this more than a hundred times to people in trouble: "I don't know about you, but I'm only able to handle one problem at a time." If there is more than one objective, determine which one is the most pressing and focus on that ALONE...a lot of times several of the other issues go away. If they don't then you work on the next most pressing issue. However, trying to stamp out each "fire" at the same time will ONLY result in NONE of the "fires" going out. Stamp one out COMPLETELY. The others may grow, but you have less "fires" to deal with and are better able to put out the other "fires".
-Is the objective in your control?
Usually, these two sub-questions bring 99% of the focus to an issue. People tend to have several objectives they have been working on and when this question is answered, they realize that only one of them is in their control. If your objective has to do with the weather, the behavior of others, or "solutions" (money, feelings, etc) then you are only going to wear yourself out.
A lot of people pose a solution as an objective. For instance, when I was in the corporate world, people would say our objective was to get more resources. That is a solution to some issue...what is the issue? What is the Desired EFFECT? I would go to the front of the room and write down "More resources"...then I would draw a line above these words and write "ISSUE?". I would ask, "What is the issue?" The response would be something like "we aren't productive enough". I would write "Increase Productivity" as the objective (Desired Effect) and then ask, "How can we solve this issue?" THEN the answers would come pouring out. Now we have a list of twenty and one of them is "More resources".
-Is the objective IS or OUGHT?
Are we trying to determine the CAUSE and solve it to perfection (OUGHT) or are we trying to deal with the symptoms and hope it goes away (IS)? IS solutions don't solve the problem...they just cover the appearance of the problem. The symptoms will come back, maybe in a different form, and there will continue to be more damage in other areas. Determining IS vs OUGHT helps increase the focus of effort on the identified objective.
-How are the terms associated with the objective defined?
We are talking about the meaning of WORDS. We need to understand what all of the participants mean when they use specific words. Jumping over this step almost always results in a dilution of effort and an inability to achieve a solution. This isn't a "right or wrong" issue. This is an opportunity to improve the focus. It doesn't matter how you define the words...as long as the words are defined. If you don't define your terms upfront, you will end up coming back to this step when you hit a dead end or make a bigger mistake because of the lack of communication/focus.
Once the objective is determined, the goal becomes to determine the CAUSE of The Desired Effect.
2. What are your options?
Everything before this stage is preparation. This is REALLY the first step in trying to solve the problem. This step is trying to identify ALL the possible CAUSES. This requires you to be completely comparative and uncomfortable in order to determine ALL possible options. As humans, we are limited in our knowledge. We can't possibly know ALL the possible options. Only God knows ALL the options. So in order to do this step COMPLETELY right, you HAVE to get revelation from God.
It is possible to cover all the options in a general way...the more general the better we can do this. For instance, CS Lewis would say Jesus was either: 1) a liar, 2) a crazy man, or 3) who He said He was (the Son of God). There are no other options...but notice, these options are general...we have a lot of arguments WITHIN each option.
3. What do you know for SURE is NOT possible?
This step occurs ONLY after you have done the previous step. EVERYTHING is questioned. Now you need to actively try to prove each option wrong. In the CS Lewis example from above, Lewis then says someone may say Jesus was ONLY a great moral teacher. Lewis shows this is contradictory because Jesus said He was the Son of God and if THAT isn't true then Jesus lied and couldn't be a great moral teacher.
This is the step that separates the cognition people from the meta-cognition people. In detective stories and medical dramas, this is the key step. Someone questions a piece of information that people assumed was true. This results in people getting very uncomfortable that someone would even consider something was not true...especially a deeply held belief.
This is probably my strongest point. People who know me say that I'm like the TV character "House". I see some of the similarities. He gets told by people that they have checked EVERYTHING. Then he'll question a piece of information and people tell him he's crazy. I have turned that scenario into a running joke. Whenever someone tells me that they have considered everything, what they are saying is, "There is no CAUSE to this observed EFFECT because I checked ALL the possible CAUSES and NONE of them would result in this EFFECT. I'm not trying to argue with you."
Then I laugh and say, "ACTUALLY I want you to be right. Do you realize how rich and famous we will become when we document the FIRST case where CAUSALITY failed? We have a documented case of a COMPLETELY random and CAUSELESS event. Even if it only occurs in that one location on earth, we need to buy the property and set up shop over the only place in the world where the principles of truth (or science) fail to work. I REALLY hope you are right!" Unfortunately, after spending over 20+ years in pursuit of thousands of examples where CAUSALITY seemed to cease, I have to report that NONE of them have been confirmed.
4. WHY is the option NOT possible?
It's not enough to say something is wrong. You have to come up with the reason...you have to present the contradiction in terms of premises. Usually it is one of the premises that are faulty. THIS is the formula for every "mystery/detective" story: you are presented a series of premises that appear true AND don't give the expected EFFECT. Then the story works its way through the premises until you find the one (or more) that are incorrect. The hour long shows are built on secondary CAUSES. The first EFFECT is solved in the first half hour and everyone relaxes...then the problem comes back and we realize we didn't get to the primary CAUSE...just the EFFECT of the primary CAUSE.
IF ALL of the options are identified, then the option that can't be PROVEN wrong HAS to be the CAUSE of The Desired Effect.
If there is more than one option that can't be PROVEN wrong, then you need to determine the information necessary to PROVE one or more of the options wrong...and get that information.
If the problem doesn't resolve itself, then you didn't identify all the options...either because you were afraid to get uncomfortable or you didn't listen to God (GRACE).
Again, notice that the perfect way to do this process involves stating your will, revelation from God, and proving truth.
In yesterday's post, we saw the purpose of "Modeling God" was to prove a non-contradictory explanation of God and salvation. While it is an intellectual explanation, the process of HOW it was done over 14 years follows the process presented in this post. This post covers HOW the four God-given principles (Contrastive, Non-Contradiction, Causality, and Growth) are used TOGETHER to determine TRUTH.
Tomorrow we will look at an explanation for HOW people fail to do this process...HOW do most people ACTUALLY think?
Next Post
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)