In a series of posts I reflect upon what we can learn about leadership from David, King of Israel. If this is the first post in the series you have read, please do a quick review of the January 2, 2009 blog titled “David’s lessons on leadership – Intro”; that post outlines why I am looking into David’s life.
The previous blog dealt with knowing we all have flaws and being aware our flaws can lead us to join the ranks of “Tragic Heroes”. This post deals with the topic of “Take a Stand”
There was a long period in David’s life when he was on the run from Saul. Recall that Saul was David’s mentor and king, he became jealous of David and went through a bi-polar experience some days loving David and some days wanting to kill him. It was in one of these ‘kill him’ moments we see David stand tall among his men and “Take a Stand”
Around 1000 B.C., Saul was chasing David through the Desert of Maon when he broke off his pursuit of David because the Philistines were raiding his land. As Saul turned, David went up and “dwelt in the strongholds at En Gedi”, which is the largest oasis along the western shore of the Dead Sea.
Saul finished his battle with the Philistines and took 3,000 men back to En Gedi to capture David. Saul basically calls in the cavalry; he now outnumbers David 5:1. Saul ends up having to relieve himself in a cave that turns out to be the very same cave that David and his men are hiding in. David’s men encourage him, telling him, "This is your moment, go kill Saul, it is a sign from above”. Six hundred frightened men, badly outnumbered convince their leader that in this moment he can deliver them from their weary travails.
David sneaks up to kill Saul and at the last moment spares him. David merely cuts a piece of Saul’s robe (which he later shows Saul to prove that he does not want to kill him). David comes back to his men and rebukes them. He does not allow them to attack Saul. He tells them, “Saul is my king and I made an oath not to lift my hand against him”. David’s men see him “Take a Stand”
I look at this story and think “What are David’s men saying about him?” Were they saying, “Look how great and glorious our leader is because he kept an oath and see how gracious he is toward Saul”? Or were they saying, “What the heck has gone wrong with David? We are on the run, tired, hungry, living in a rock, he has every chance to deliver us and yet he does not!”
We never know their reaction. As you study this story you see the reaction of David’s men upon finding Saul, yet there is nothing about their reaction to David letting Saul go. Why is there no record of their reaction in that moment? Here I think is the lesson – it did not matter…
There will be moments in which you are publicly presented a situation where you have to either “Take a Stand” or please the people you lead. Until people see you “Take a Stand” they will never know your values or be in a position to choose to accept your values or move on.
So here is a moment for David’s men; they see the choice that David made. They know the sacrifice of this choice since David is on the run with them. They see David have the opportunity to end it all yet choose to keep an oath and respect authority. David’s men now know his values and can choose to follow him and his belief system or move on.
We do our people a favor when we “Take a Stand”; we let them know our value systems and ourselves. We are no longer anonymous. There is an old Chinese proverb - “A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion”
Show your values, don’t just talk about them; “Take a Stand”
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