2022-04-14
2 Korintiërs 3:5-6 NLV
Dit het goed met Dawid gegaan. Hy het oorlog na oorlog gewen. Alles wat hy aangeraak het, het in goud verander! Sukses kan egter na jou kop toe gaan en Dawid was geen uitsondering nie. Hy het begin wonder: ‘Hoe sterk is ons regtig?’ Op daardie punt het hy ‘n sensusopname gedoen en ontdek dat hy 1 100 000 mense wat militêre diens kon lewer…’ (1 Kronieke 21:5 NLV), gehad het. Dit kan enigeen van ons in die versoeking bring om te dink: ‘Met ‘n weermag van hierdie grootte en ons rekord van suksesse, het ons nie nodig om tot God te bid of Hom vir ‘n plan te vra nie.’ Op daardie punt het God ingetree, Dawid geoordeel en sewentigduisend Israeliete het onnodig gesterf (sien vers 14 NLV).
Hier is dus ‘n ander aspek van leierskap waarvan jy bewus moet wees: Jou foute het die potensiaal om ander mense seer te maak. Jy moet nie net verantwoording teenoor diegene bo jou doen nie; jy is verantwoordelik vir die mense onder jou. As jou goeie besluite die vermoë het om mense te seën en hulle te lei, het jou slegte besluite die potensiaal om hulle skade aan te doen.
“En Dawid het vir God gesê: ‘Ek was die een wat die sensus beveel het! Ek is die een wat gesondig het en verkeerde dinge gedoen het!.. O Here my God, laat u woede teen my en my familie ontbrand, maar moenie u volk vernietig nie!'” (vers 17 NLV). God het genadiglik Dawid se gebede beantwoord.
Jy het dus God se leiding vir jouself, die mense rondom jou en vir die genade om verantwoordelikheid te aanvaar wanneer jy misluk, nodig. Moenie jou mislukkings probeer wegsteek, ander probeer blameer of vir God probeer weghardloop nie. Erken jou foute, groei deur hulle en gaan voort om wyser te word.
Sielskos: Lev 24-25; Luk 23:18-25; Ps 69:1-6; Spr 10:5
2022-04-13
1 Kronieke 21:1 NLV
Pas nadat hulle ‘n groot oorwinning oor die Filistyne behaal het, het koning Dawid ‘n groot fout begaan. In plaas daarvan om op God vir sy volgende geveg te vertrou, het hy ‘n sensusopname geneem om sy militêre krag te meet en sy kanse op oorwinning te bepaal. Gevolglik het sewentigduisend Israeliete omgekom. Hierdie verhaal leer ons drie belangrike lesse oor leierskapsverantwoordelikheid:
1) Jy is, as leier, Satan se spesiale teiken. Hy weet dat hy deur jou moet gaan om by ander uit te kom, dus sal hy elke strategie gebruik om jou neer te vel. Die gemiddelde raad van direkteure sou die sensusopname heel waarskynlik as ‘n goeie idee gesien het, maar God het dit as ‘n daad van arrogansie en ongeloof gesien.
2) Moenie aanmatigend wees nie. Moenie dat jou vorige oorwinning jou te selfversekerd oor jou volgende geveg maak nie. Die feit dat God pas vir Dawid ‘n groot oorwinning gegee het, moes hom meer, nie minder nie, afhanklik van God gemaak het. Paulus skryf: ‘Nie dat ons op eie houtjie iets kan bedink asof dit ons eie breinkind is nie. Ons bekwaamheid kom van God, wat ons bekwaam gemaak het…’ (2 Korintiërs 3:5-6 NLV).
3) Luister na wyse raad. Joab, een van Dawid se offisiere, het hom gewaarsku dat hy besig was om ‘n groot fout te maak. ‘Maar die koning het daarop aangedring dat Joab die sensus opneem…’ (1 Kronieke 21:4 NLV). Jy mag dalk groot gawes hê, maar jy het nie al die gawes nie. Waar jy blinde kolle het, het ander mense dikwels 20/20 visie. ‘…dit is veilig om baie raadgewers te hê’ (Spreuke 11:14 NLV), luister dus na die mense wat God in jou lewe geplaas het om jou te lei en te beskerm.
Sielskos: Lev 22-23; Luk 23:8-17; Ps 32; Spr 10:4
1 Chronicles 21:1 NIV
Fresh from a major victory over the Philistines, King David made a major mistake. Instead of trusting God for his next battle, he conducted a census to measure his military power and determine his chances of winning. And this mistake cost the lives of seventy thousand Israelites.
This story teaches us three very important lessons about responsibility: 1) Leaders are Satan’s special targets. He knows that in order to easily get to others, he can go through their leader, so he’ll use every strategy he has to bring a leader down. ‘Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census.’ The census sounded like a good idea, but it wasn’t God’s idea – He saw it as an act of arrogance and unbelief.
2) Don’t be presumptuous. We mustn’t allow past victories to make us overconfident about our next battle or our skill level. There’ll never be a time when we don’t need God. The fact that God had just granted David a great victory should have made him more, not less, dependent on God. Paul wrote, ‘Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent’ (2 Corinthians 3:5-6 NIV).
3) Listen to wise counsel. Joab, one of David’s generals, warned him he was making a grave mistake. ‘The king’s word, however, overruled Joab’ (1 Chronicles 21:4 NIV). We may each have great gifts, but no single one of us has all the gifts. Where we have weaknesses, others may have strengths. ‘Victory is won through many advisors’ (Proverbs 11:14 NIVUK), so let’s listen to the people God has put in our lives to guide and protect us.
Lev 22-23; Luke 23:8-17; Ps 32; Pro 10:4
1 Chronicles 21:1 NIV
Fresh from a major victory over the Philistines, King David made a major mistake. Instead of trusting God for his next battle, he conducted a census designed to measure his military power and determine his chances of winning. As a result, seventy thousand Israelites perished. This story teaches us three very important lessons about leadership responsibility:
(1) As a leader, you’re Satan’s special target. He knows that in order to get to others, he must go through you, so he will use every strategy he has to bring you down. “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census.” The average board of directors would probably have considered it a good idea, but God saw it as an act of arrogance and unbelief.
(2) Don’t be presumptuous. Don’t let your last victory make you overconfident about your next battle. There will never be a time when you don’t need God! The fact that God had just granted David a great victory should have made him more, not less, dependent on God. Paul wrote, “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent” (2 Corinthians 3:5-6 NIV).
(3) Listen to wise counsel. Joab, one of David’s generals, warned him he was making a grave mistake. “The king’s word, however, overruled Joab” (1 Chronicles 21:4 NIV). You may have great gifts, but you don’t have all the gifts. Where you have blind spots, others often have 20/20 vision. “In the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14 KJV), so listen to the people God put in your life to guide and protect you.
Soul food: Lev 22-23; Luke 23:8-17; Ps 32; Pro 10:4
2022-04-12
Romans 12:3 NIV
Generally speaking, we tend to overestimate our capabilities. We like to think we can do it all, and do it better than anyone else. But no matter how disciplined we are or how hard we try, without a ‘sane estimate of [our] capabilities’, we’re setting ourselves up for a fall if we overestimate ourselves.
Author John Ortberg said: ‘Willpower is… finite… You don’t get separate stockpiles for different areas… That’s why a long list of New Year’s resolutions is almost certainly doomed… It takes a whole lot of willpower… For most of us… our wills get depleted… more quickly than our bodies.’
John Ortberg suggests these: 1) Schedule your most important tasks for when your willpower is strongest. For many people, that’s the morning, but it can vary. We should try to be aware of times when we’re more decisive, and less likely to be swayed by temptations (big or small), and try to do important tasks at those times.
2) Spend willpower wisely by not taking on too many tasks at once, even after you’ve prayed about them. God generally works through our will, so we need to be careful in how much we rely on our willpower. We don’t want to spend it all and have none left for God.
3) Set goals – but not too many. If we have too few, we tend to drift; but having too many means we worry more about them, accomplish less, and struggle emotionally and physically.
4) Remember that the one act of our will that replenishes willpower instead of depleting it is surrender to God. God meant for prayer, solitude, worship, and meditation to be done in a way that restores us.
Lev 20-21; Luke 23:1-7; Ps 25:16-22; Pro 10:3
