The Unfettered Bloke

I was reading in Exodus 18 this morning and read something that I’ve always just skimmed over before, but it offers some powerful lessons, especially for those in leadership positions or in positions of authority over others–whether it be within the church, at work or simply as head of a home. Jethro was Moses’ father-in-law and shortly after the Israelites exited Egypt, he came to visit Moses in the wilderness. Jethro taught Moses some important lessons during their time together. See if you can spot them from the passage below:

^{13 -14} The next day Moses took his place to judge the people. People were standing before him all day long, from morning to night. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What’s going on here? Why are you doing all this, and all by yourself, letting everybody line up before you from morning to night?”

^{15 -16} Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me with questions about God. When something comes up, they come to me. I judge between a man and his neighbor and teach them God’s laws and instructions.”

^{17 -23} Moses’ father-in-law said, “This is no way to go about it. You’ll burn out, and the people right along with you. This is way too much for you—you can’t do this alone. Now listen to me. Let me tell you how to do this so that God will be in this with you. Be there for the people before God, but let the matters of concern be presented to God. Your job is to teach them the rules and instructions, to show them how to live, what to do. And then you need to keep a sharp eye out for competent men—men who fear God, men of integrity, men who are incorruptible—and appoint them as leaders over groups organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten. They’ll be responsible for the everyday work of judging among the people. They’ll bring the hard cases to you, but in the routine cases they’ll be the judges. They will share your load and that will make it easier for you. If you handle the work this way, you’ll have the strength to carry out whatever God commands you, and the people in their settings will flourish also.”

^{24 -27} Moses listened to the counsel of his father-in-law and did everything he said. Moses picked competent men from all Israel and set them as leaders over the people who were organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten. They took over the everyday work of judging among the people. They brought the hard cases to Moses, but in the routine cases they were the judges. Then Moses said good-bye to his father-in-law who went home to his own country.”

There are a lot of lessons here, but here’s a few things that stood out to me. First, Jethro taught Moses to delegate. It’s impossible for one person to do it all. Us men struggle greatly in this area because delegating responsibility isn’t something we’re naturally good at. To some, delegating seems like a sign of weakness because you’re admitting you can’t do it all. I’ve had managers and bosses and I’ve seen pastors and ministry leaders that had this mindset–it’s unhealthy and eventually leads to complete and utter failure.

The second lesson is a bit more subtle, but is the most important in my opinion. Jethro told Moses to surround himself with God-fearing men–men who loved God with all their heart and were loyal to the cause of Christ. This is why I love seeing a plurality of Elders in the church, because it takes the pressure and focus off the pastor being “the man” and distributes the responsibility to other godly leaders. There’s so many lessons that can be taken from this one point too, outside of leadership. As individuals, we should surround ourselves with other people in our lives that will keep us accountable, who will encourage us when we’re down and speak truth into our lives when we’re veering off course. The Christian life was never intended to be run alone.

Jethro spoke truth into Moses’ life, which I truly believe changed the course of history for Israel. It allowed other men to step up and become leaders–men like Joshua. But none of this would have happened had Moses not listened. As leaders in whatever aspect of our lives (church, workplace, home), we must listen to the advice and council of others around us. God used the simple words of a simple man named Jethro to change the course of Moses’ life–and it can change ours too.

What about you… do you have a hard time delegating? Ever find yourself running the race alone, trying to make it all work out on your own?

We can all learn a lot from Jethro.