Do you treat your rivals with honor? (88-2)
A leader’s humility is sometimes measured by the manner in which they handle loss. Humble leaders don’t point fingers. They accept that even their best effort sometimes isn’t enough. On other occasions a leader’s humility is measured by how well they handle real or potential victories. Humble leaders treat even rivals with honor. Read 1 Samuel 24.
If ever a leader had a reason to grasp victory and gloat, it was David. David had been loyal to God and to Saul. He had not tried to steal Saul’s throne even though he knew God had anointed him as Israel’s next king. David’s only “crime” that had angered Saul was his devotion to God and the courage to defeat the Philistine soldier Goliath which gave him instant fame among the people of Israel.
David had experienced tremendous loss in that he had been driven from Saul’s palace and away from his home, family and his dear friend Jonathan. King Saul and his army were pursuing David and his small band of supporters across the countryside with the intent to kill every last one of them. The threat was real and Saul’s intense jealousy blinded him to David’s love and loyalty to God and himself.
While David and his men were hiding from Saul’s army in a dark cave, David encountered an unexpected opportunity. Saul’s three-thousand man army waited outside the cave while King Saul, unaware of David’s presence, entered the cave to relieve himself. David’s warriors saw this as God delivering Saul to David and they urged David to kill Saul and take his rightful position as God’s anointed king of Israel.
David knew that killing Saul would not only solve his problem but the life-threatening situation to his men and family would be gone. He knew his actions were on trial before everyone who supported him and he was no stranger to killing the enemy. The temptation to kill Saul must have been very great. David also knew his character and faithfulness was on trial before God.
He chose to allow God to establish the timing of his ascension to the throne and clearly communicated that to his men. When David moved in next to Saul and cut off a piece of Saul’s robe, in humility before God, David was “conscience-stricken” and chose not to kill someone God had anointed. Minutes later David stood in the entrance to the cave and announced to Saul, “Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the Lord’s anointed’” (1 Samuel 24:10).
Great leaders are humble. And humble leaders treat even their enemies with honor and require their team to do the same.
When opportunities to take advantage of the moment appear in your leadership world, do you take a moment to consider how this fits into the principles of character and leadership established by God or do you see this as an opportunity serve your own best interests? Virtually everything we learn tells us to take advantage of the moment. This attitude is not new to the 21st century; David’s men would have celebrated had David killed Saul in the cave and seized the throne. Leaders with godly humility seek God first and then take action based on God’s leading.
If ever a leader had a reason to grasp victory and gloat, it was David. David had been loyal to God and to Saul. He had not tried to steal Saul’s throne even though he knew God had anointed him as Israel’s next king. David’s only “crime” that had angered Saul was his devotion to God and the courage to defeat the Philistine soldier Goliath which gave him instant fame among the people of Israel.
David had experienced tremendous loss in that he had been driven from Saul’s palace and away from his home, family and his dear friend Jonathan. King Saul and his army were pursuing David and his small band of supporters across the countryside with the intent to kill every last one of them. The threat was real and Saul’s intense jealousy blinded him to David’s love and loyalty to God and himself.
While David and his men were hiding from Saul’s army in a dark cave, David encountered an unexpected opportunity. Saul’s three-thousand man army waited outside the cave while King Saul, unaware of David’s presence, entered the cave to relieve himself. David’s warriors saw this as God delivering Saul to David and they urged David to kill Saul and take his rightful position as God’s anointed king of Israel.
David knew that killing Saul would not only solve his problem but the life-threatening situation to his men and family would be gone. He knew his actions were on trial before everyone who supported him and he was no stranger to killing the enemy. The temptation to kill Saul must have been very great. David also knew his character and faithfulness was on trial before God.
He chose to allow God to establish the timing of his ascension to the throne and clearly communicated that to his men. When David moved in next to Saul and cut off a piece of Saul’s robe, in humility before God, David was “conscience-stricken” and chose not to kill someone God had anointed. Minutes later David stood in the entrance to the cave and announced to Saul, “Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the Lord’s anointed’” (1 Samuel 24:10).
Great leaders are humble. And humble leaders treat even their enemies with honor and require their team to do the same.
When opportunities to take advantage of the moment appear in your leadership world, do you take a moment to consider how this fits into the principles of character and leadership established by God or do you see this as an opportunity serve your own best interests? Virtually everything we learn tells us to take advantage of the moment. This attitude is not new to the 21st century; David’s men would have celebrated had David killed Saul in the cave and seized the throne. Leaders with godly humility seek God first and then take action based on God’s leading.
