353 – Why Do I have to be in Charge?

#faithbites #faithjourney charge

If you know me at all, you know I’m a person of action. I like to get things done, be infront of whatever is going on, and make my presence known. Sometimes it’s because I think I can do it better than others, sometimes it’s I just want to see it done, and other times it’s just because. I’ve written before about servant leadership and letting others go first .

Tonight we had our Girl Scout Christmas party. We were trying to get a prayer going and no one wanted to do it, so I stepped up. A couple of other times, I stepped up to lead, because I felt it needed to be done. Am I doing it to shine over others? Maybe. Is it because I want to help? Definitley. Of all my good qualities this is one I wish I had better control over. I wish that I could just hang back more and trust that everything will be done well and I don’t necessarily need to do it all. At the same time, I need to know when to lead.

Scripture

• “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” – Matthew 20:16
• And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
  with skillful hands he led them. – Psalm 78:72
• So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets – Matthew 7:12

Reflection

We see the disciples arguing about who will be “second in command” or lead after Jesus leaves. He tells them the troubles of leading. In Matthew, we see the last will be first and the first will be last. In the Psalm, we see that the leadership should have integrity and skillul hands. These are traits of a leader and ones I have. The hard part is to know when to lead and when to step back.

I think the third verse is speaking to me on that. We know the Golden Rule: Do onto others as you would have them do to you. In the past, I’ve seen that more apply to how we behave and act. I had never thought about it like this: How would I feel is someone jumped in and took charge when I was in charge? What feelings would I have?

The fact is, I have been in those situations. Most of the times, I still think I could have done it better than that person. Some times though, I am hurt as I believed I could still do it and could do it well. Other times, I had given up the leadership role by my actions if not my words.

All of these situations help us to see that there are times to hold onto the reins and time to pass them off. If we think about how the other person may feel, then we might be a little better at knowing when. I have a lot of work to do on this.

Charge

Do you feel the need to step up all the time? Have you ever asked the people around you if they need help, or do you just do it? While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, knowing the balance is hard. Next time you are in the situation, take a breathe and ask someone around you if they need help. You might be surprised. If they say no, respect that, even if it is uncomfortable.

Lord, help me to not feel that I always need to be in charge. Give me the strength to back away and let others lead. Let me know that it will all work out fine even if it is not on my time table or in my way. Remind me that you have all of this in your hands.