And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” – Numbers 14:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 7, 2012): Numbers 14

I have recently started to read the “Game of Thrones” series of books. I am thoroughly enjoying the adventure story. But beyond the intrigue and the swordplay, it is actually an excellent description of leadership styles. The various leaders described in the book run from puppet kings with someone else pulling the strings, to selfish leaders running their houses into ruin to feed there are own egos and desires, and a couple of good leaders who lead because of a genuine concern for the people and willing to make the hard decisions.

There is an old joke that says that there are three reasons that a person might have for taking a position of leadership. The joke says that some become leaders for the power, while others do it for the recognition and still others for the money. The joke part is that for most leaders, none of those things are present. And when they are present, often good leaders would give them up just so they could be released from their leadership responsibilities. Leadership is not something that we should ever chase after. The truth is that leadership is often hard - and the rewards are very few.

We recognize Moses as an excellent leader. He was able to lead a nation not only on a long journey to a different place on the earth, but from being a nation of slaves into a nation that could take responsibility for themselves and for their own future. And the task was not an easy one. There were many times when Moses probably wished he had stayed with the sheep in Midian. The only reason that he would continue to lead was because God had asked him to.

But the people were not happy with his leadership. Often they are not happy because the task of a leader is to stretch us beyond where we are and into something new. And that process can be painful (it was for Israel.) So what Israel wanted was a puppet leader who would stop stretching them and return them to where they had already been. And Moses would never be a puppet.

If God has called you to lead – and I think that we are all called to be leaders somewhere in our lives – do not settle for just being a puppet. The perks are better, but puppets always has to leave God’s vision behind. There is so much more that God wants us to reach for. But getting there will require the presence of the real leader in us – and other leaders in our circle of influence.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers 15