Are you tempted to make bad decisions in order to succeed? (86-2)
Every leader will make mistakes. The effects of those mistakes can be minimized by a humble spirit that allows acknowledgement of the mistake and that allows forward progress to be restarted or it can be compounded by pride that demands to hold on to bad decisions and continues to put actions to the original error in judgment. Read 1 Samuel 14:24-46.
Jonathan and his armor bearer had separated themselves from the rest of Israel’s army and had attacked a Philistine outpost. God used Jonathan’s victory over this small contingent of Philistine soldiers to create confusion among the rest of the Philistine troops and put the entire Philistine army into turmoil. The confusion was so wide spread that when “Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords” (v 20).
Just before Saul threw his forces into the battle to take the total victory, thinking he was serving God by calling for a fast, Saul ordered his men not to eat anything the entire day. Think about it, on a day when their bodies would burn tremendous amounts of energy, the leader tells them not to eat and cuts off their source of energy. Even worse than the original foolhardy command, Saul bound himself by an oath before God that gave no room for error.
As if a leader’s bad decision needs more compounding, Saul didn’t consider all the potential ramifications of this order. His son Jonathan wasn’t in the camp to know of Saul’s order and surely would use common sense concerning the need for food that gave quick energy during the battle. Jonathan’s comment to the men who saw him eat some wild honey and informed him of Saul’s orders was that “My father has made trouble for the country…How much better it would have been if the men had eaten today…Would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater” (vv 29-30).
Because of his proud refusal to acknowledge an error of judgment, Saul lost credibility in the eyes of his people. Instead of humbly acknowledging his impulsive oath, Saul obstinately pursued a course that would have led to the absurdity of executing his own son for eating honey. The men rescued Jonathan, and their respect for their king was diminished.
Saul’s orders sound totally out of line when we view them in the abstract but put into our leadership world, the demands of leadership can be so great that any of us can be tempted to make promises to God when seeking His help with a critical project. Where are the areas you are tempted to make bad decisions because of pressure to succeed? Godly leaders will seek God before making decisions all the time but especially in times of crisis or pressure. If after seeking God a leader still makes a mistake, effective leaders allow humility to rule rather than pride so the mistake isn’t compounded.
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Comments (5)
What really stands out to me in this blog is the final sentence “Godly leaders will seek God before making decisions all the time but especially in times of crisis or pressure. If after seeking God a leader still makes a mistake, effective leaders allow humility to rule rather than pride so the mistake isn’t compounded.”
We are all tempted to make bad decisions in order to succeed. Even when we resist that temptation it is still highly likely, since none of us are perfect, that we will make a mistake. I have seen so many leaders compound their troubles by failure to admit mistakes. It is not only devestating to them but to all those who follow their leadership.
It is absolutely essential that we lay down our pride and embrace humility as leaders. That means seeking God’s will & way above our own. It also means being able to admit when we are wrong. It is not a question of “if” we will make a mistake but rather a question of “when” we will make it and “how” we will behave once the mistake has been made. The answers to those three questions are critical and will impact the life of all within our circle of influence.
Lord help us to embrace humility in the leadership assignments which You have placed us in.
Today, my sister lost a close friend who passed away at 88 yrs old, she was just heartbroken and called from another state to share it with me. My sister said it reminded her just to “do something” even if she’s not ready yet because time is short. I countered that sometimes we have to wait until the right time so that we will be ready, acting is not always accomplishing something. So many people think that waiting is doing nothing and they are impatient, they want things to move now and if they don’t they get frustrated and force things. She then remembered a book she read about “peaks and valleys” (I can’t remember the name of it, offhand I’m sorry) but in that book, it said to use the valleys in our lives so that when we reach a peak, we are prepared. This also reminds me of one of my favorite songs that Willie Nelson and Toots & the Maytals recorded. It says “I swim like a fish in the sea all the time, if that’s what it takes to be free I don’t mind, still is still moving to me.”
Sometimes the pressure to succed causes me to subcomb to hasty decisions. Thanks for putting this into perspective.
It seems to me that our personality strengths, and weaknesses play hard on this subject. I mean, achievers want quick results, persisters do not want to budge from prior “orders” (stubborness), unifiers want everyone “happy” with no disagreeable talk, and some people cannot stand criticism. I find it extremely interesting that Saul, who disregared God’s explicit commands on crucial issues, even using medium after outlawing them: this man is forcing all to fast! I had never thought of it until this post. He was not being spiritual, but was not wanting to lose face, perhaps? Some leaders, too, do not know what to do, so they just make no decision in situations where a small change might win or lose a war?
Bob