March 20

Develop your conflict resolution and leadership skills

Judges 8:1-3 Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, "Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?" And they criticized him sharply.
2But he answered them, "What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren't the gleanings of Ephraim's grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer? 3God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?" At this, their resentment against him subsided.

Picking up on a lesson from the last paragraph of yesterday’s reading.

Gideon was a reluctant leader but God gave him an amazing victory. With 300 men they were able to defeat an army described as “thick as locust.” It is clear that God blessed him. Yet Ephraim’s leaders felt left out because Gideon had not called them to join the battle. They felt slighted because they were only called in for “mopping up” operations. So they criticized Gideon sharply in an angry confrontation. While Gideon wasn’t much on bravery he was great on conflict resolution skills and leadership. Rather than strike back, give them the silent treatment or battle with them, he was gracious to them, because of his confidence in God. He diplomatically points out that the rear guard actions were actually greater than his own actions. WOW!!
Four lessons for us…
1. When we lead there is no way to avoid criticism. Leading means we will take heat. In our leadership we must have pleasing our God as our motivation. We must do every action to please an audience of one. We will have to wait until the judgment day to have a review of our leadership. A leader must have the heart of a dove and the hide of a rhino.
2. When criticized show grace. The pull of the human heart is to strike back, demand our rights…. God wants us to show grace. A great leader shows grace and can build a team even when people are criticizing.
3. Just because a job is highly visible it doesn’t make it more important. There are no second class roles in God’s kingdom. A cup of water given in Jesus’ name is as vital as preaching before thousands. Pride causes people to think they need to be up front and visible. We need to encourage people to be faithful in working even when no one sees except God.
4. One additional lesson on leadership found in today’s reading is the legacy you leave behind. Abimelech usurps the throne, kills his 70 brothers and becomes the leader of Israel. But what is his mission? His mission is to make a name for himself. At the city of Thebes that mission comes to an end. A woman drops a millstone on Abimelech’s head and cracks his skull. He says to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can’t say, ‘A woman killed me’.” So his servant ran him through, and he died. His mission to make a name for himself even dominates his death. Some very interesting words then appear. “When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.”
“Well, that mission is over. I guess I have to go home and vacuum the house and wash the chariot today.”
Great leaders have a mission that is eternal, that transcends their lives. The mission of great leaders is not to make our names known but to make God’s name known. Otherwise when you die, people will come to your funeral, eat some potato salad, and go home to vacuum their houses.