Our
sufficiency is from God. - 2 Corinthians 3:5
God's ways are not our ways. We tend to equate leadership with lordship; He equates
leadership with servanthood. We want strength so we can help God with His work; He makes
us weak so He can demonstrate His power. We advertise our credentials so others can be
more sure of us; He lets us fail so they can see that apart from God we're not much at
all.
We are inclined to focus on personalities, to be impressed by the intellect, education,
and strength of a leader's will. Followers begin to believe that a particular leader can
do no wrong. Such adulation, however, is nothing more than humanism - making a human being
the measure of all things. What's worse, it's idolatry - centering our devotion on someone
other than God.
So God lets leaders fall off their pedestal. Failure, indecision, and underachievement
bring them to a humbling realization of their own inadequacy - and can cause followers to
lose their illusions and overdependence on those leaders. This is a good reminder that all
of us - leaders and followers alike - walk through life on "feet of clay."
Ultimately, the only good thing about any one of us is the goodness of God. That's why we
need to recognize that "our sufficiency is from God" (2 Corinthians 3:5).
-
DHR
If you rely upon God's strength
And live a life that's true,
Then what you do in Jesus' name
Will be His work through you.
-D.
De Haan
Only as we see our weakness can we draw upon God's strength.