A Word For The Led And The Leaders

Anchor Bible Passage : Numbers 11: 4-15

INTERACTIVE QUESTIONS

– Have you ever found yourself in a leadership position (at home, church, work place, organisation, etc) ?

– As a leader, how do you feel when your subordinates disobey, criticize, and sabotage your efforts ?

– Do you always criticize the people at the leadership position of any organisation you belong to ? If yes, why ?

– Do you consider yourself a good leader/ follower ? If yes/ no, why ?

Introduction

Leadership is a very sensitive and challenging position because it can ruin one’s vision, call, vocation, marriage, and even his own life, if care is not taken. One of the greatest challenges of leaders are the followers, the subordinates, the very people they are representing (the led). And since in life, everyone is a leader at one point and the led (follower) at the other, in this lesson, we will be considering certain counsels for the led and the leaders.

From our Bible passage, the Israelites were seen blaming Moses because they were being fed with manna everyday. They needed meat in their diet, but all they had was manna. So the entire congregation murmured against him to the point that Moses begged God to take his life instead of staying alive to lead such an obstinate set of people.

To The Led.

A follower’s comportment and attitude can go a long way in helping his leader achieve and accomplish his assigned duties successfully. On the other hand, his attitude may not just only cripple the leader’s efforts, but also ruin his personal life. A follower is therefore expected to do the following :

1. Be Considerate

– Put yourself in the shoes of your leader each time you are tempted to blame him/her.

-Always ask these questions «  Is it really my leader’s fault that things are not going the way I want it ? How can I help make things work better?….»

– In Moses’ case, was it his fault that there were no meat, melons, onions, and whatever they were demanding for in that desert ?

– Remember, the position of your leader has given him extra loads to carry, so be reasonable and considerate.

* Moses alone was carrying the burden meant for 70 people !

*Why make life unbearable for your leader when you can help alleviate it?

2. Beware Of Mixed Multitudes.

– The mixed multitudes are the rabble, the mob, the disorderly crowd.

– As a follower, you must beware of this set of people because in our text, the mixed multitude originally weren’t Israelites, rather they were a set of people who joined in the exodus from Egypt for some personal reasons.

– And because they had their personal interest at heart, any slight discomfort would certainly provoke revolt and complaints from them.

– Don’t join them in their ruthless character, because you don’t have the same convinction as they.

3. Don’t Be The One That Will Hype evil Rumours Concerning Your Leader.

– Even though you may not be the source of any evil rumour against your leader, don’t help spread it.

* If the majority of the Israelites never hyped the complaints against Moses and the wild appetite for meat, may be the whole murmuring would have died down as soon as it started.

– Don’t spread negative news.

4. Don’t Join Unreasonable Evil Demonstration Fuelled By Selfish Agenda.

– In verse 10, they all came in front of their tents in families, weeping, to give Moses their leader a mental torture.

– Sometimes some people criticize their leader because of some personal grudges, so don’t allow yourself to be coaxed into joining their team thereby increase their number.

– Don’t be cajoled by people to use you to meet their selfish agenda.

5. Don’t Be The Undoing Of Your Leader.

– Don’t make life / leadership unbearable for your leader due to your obstinacy and difficult attitude.

– Don’t be the one that will make him feel suicidal (as in the case of Moses).

* Rather be the one that will make leading easier for him. Let him always count on your fidelity.

6. Be Humble.

– No matter who you are or your qualifications, stay humble before your leader because two captains cannot drive the same boat.

– It takes a humble heart to be a good follower.

7. Remember You Will Reap What You Sow

– Remember the position of leadership/follower changes in place and time, so be careful how you treat your leader anytime you find yourself in the followership position, because in life, we reap what we sow.

– Romans 13:1-2 states that God is the one who put your leader in his position, so opposing him means opposing God, and there is a repercussion for that.

– If you make leadership unbearable for someone, if you frustrate him to the point of resigning, if you make exercising his leadership rights a nightmare, be sure that sooner or later when you climb to such a position, people will loathe you.

– You cannot enjoy the fruit you didn’t sow.

A Word To The Leaders.

There are some things you need to know to keep you focused and on track as you carry on your duties as a leader.

1. Look Out For The Mixed Multitudes.

– A leader must beware of this set of people because in our text, the mixed multitude originally weren’t Israelites, rather they were a set of people who joined the exodus from Egypt for some personal reasons.

– A leader therefore will do himself a world of good by identifying them, and applying wisdom on how to handle them, because they will corrupt innocent, feeble minded ones, if caution is not applied.

– They may be in church but they are not born-again, thus you cannot expect the best from them.

2. Don’t Allow The People You Are Called To Lead Be Your Undoing.

– The truth is that some people are sworn ungovernable folks and will never submit to rules, so leave them !

* Ignore them, especially when you know that they are doing it intentionally.

– Don’t allow anyone take away your crown (Rev. 3:11).

* Remember, you must not stress yourself out of the promised land like Moses (despite all his input and sacrifices).

3. Don’t Allow Toxic Followers Turn You Into A Toxic Leader.

– Toxic followers have the capability of stressing their leader into being toxic, don’t allow it !

– Moses became suicidal and preferred death to being their leader.

– At a time Moses became moody, melancholic, depressed, and frustrated, because of their constant and organised nagging.

* Proverbs 4:23 exhorts us to be careful with the state of our heart because it reflects in our character.(Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life)

– Because they consistently whinned and complained to Moses, he felt like a failure, and he also whinned and complained to God.

– Don’t allow your followers do same to you, put your emotions under constant check, so that it doesn’t get toxic and blow up because of the people you are called to lead.

4. You Will Always Be Blamed By Inconsiderate People When Anything Goes Wrong (Numbers 16).

– Though it was obvious to the entire assembly of Israel that God destroyed Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and that their company died because of their rebellion against Moses, they still blamed Moses for their death.

– Some people will always blame their leaders when anything goes wrong, even when it’s obvious that it’s not their fault, so don’t allow that break you down.

5. Remember, Leadership Is Only A Means To An End, And Not The End Itself.

– Your leadership position is only a vehicle and a channel of achieveing your divinely assigned responsibilities, and not your final destination.

– How you handle that position is more important than the title itself, because your failure or success in the race of destiny is tied to it.

– So do not allow any kind of distraction, criticism, or offence to cause you make a detour from you destination (stop counting who did what).

– Remember, no matter how much investiment and sacrifices you have made for the people you are leading, it is only when you hold on to the end that those sacrifices will be celebrated, but when you quit half-way, all will be counted as nothing.

6. Always Take Your Leadership Challenges To God In Prayer.

– Instead of taking it out on the people and venting your anger on them, take your stress to God in prayer, for only Him has the solution.

– He provided the Israelites with more than enough meat (manna, water….) .

– Be careful not to confuse prayer with gripe, because the Bible says, « …with prayer and thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God ».( Thes 4:6).

* Because the people were always against Moses, we notice that most times, he came before God griping, instead of praying.

– As a leader, only God can handle your problems such as criticism, false accusations, insults, unyielding people, etc. and replace them with joy, so go to Him with those questions all the time.

* God alleviated Moses’ burden by sharing it among 70 elders.

7. God Will Always Give You Supportive People. (Romans 11:5, Isaiah 1:9)

– Because it is God’s work, He will always leave you with supportive people, no matter how few- let this encourage you.

– Identify these supportive ones (through their availability, obedience, encouragement, respect…) and be content to work with them, even if they are not the most talented or the richest.

– Be careful not to transfer any aggression from the unruly people to those supportive people, nor treat them with suspicion.

8. Your Labour Is Not In Vain (2 Cor. 4:17, Heb 6:10).

– As a leader, always remember that your labour in the Lord is not in vain. So whatever you do, there is a reward for it.

– Do not allow any obstacles in life and a few negative people around deprive you of the glorious reward which awaits you at the end of the tunnel.

To Both The Leaders And The Led

i) Bad Followers Can Never Make Good Leaders.

– Don’t be surprised when you meet people who found it difficult obeying rules and taking orders from their superiors, mess things up when they find themselves in leadership position.

– Someone who scores low in good followership, may likely fail woefully in good leadership !

This is because leadership lesson is naturally available right at the follower’s corridor.

ii) Both Leaders and Followers Need Discipline And Sacrifice.

Both good leadership and good followership demand a lot of discipline and sacrifice to be able to function properly.

iii) Your Fulfillment In Life Is Directly Tied To Your Role As The Leader Or The Led.

How you play your role either as a leader or as a follower may determine how far you can go in some certain spheres of life. One’s life may not experience a considerable level of breakthrough because of lack of proper management of his role as a leader or a follower.

iv) Remember That You Are Answerable To God How You Live Your Position.

Whether you are a leader or a follower, remember God is watching your attitude. You will be judged how you lived your role as a leader or a led.