Humility in Leadership

 Recently, I was appointed to a position of leadership and responsibility at work, which I DID NOT WANT.  I'm not gifted with administrative skills.  I have a highly volatile temperament.  I forget easily.  I procrastinate enormously.  I'm not methodical nor organized.  And I find it difficult to see the big picture.  But, for some reason, no matter how much I resisted and tried to get out of doing this, God's plan included that I would have to step onto this position.  So, when I accepted the inevitability of the situation, I began to pray that God would give me what I needed (which was such a long list, that I couldn't even detail it). After all, we've always heard how God doesn't call the equipped, but He equips those He calls, right?  I'm not equating my new position at work with the calling to serve God's Kingdom.  But I know, that in a tiny way I am also working for Him, if all I do, I do it onto Him.

So, as I prayed, I remembered King Solomon, and how when God said to him, "ask me anything you want," Solomon asked for wisdom, and God was pleased with that request.  So, I figured, I'd give it a try and do the same.  That's why, for a while now, I have been praying specifically for wisdom.  However, I also remembered, though I'm not very familiar with all of the details of King Solomon's life and experiences, that things went south for him at some point...and I don't mean "south" in a good way, like, let's go to Florida for the winter...

That caused me to begin to ponder about wisdom.  Being granted wisdom would mean being granted great power.  The power of wisdom may cause us to think too highly of ourselves.  In other words, the great power of wisdom may derive or morph into the great sin of pride.  And I REALLY do not need to add to my on-going, pride-ridden-struggles. So, the Holy Spirit led me to realize that the only thing that could counter pride is a high dose of humility.

I wonder, as I begin my reading of I Kings and to dig deeper into the details of King Solomon's life, if I will find out that his great wisdom got out of control because it was not reigned in by humility?

So, I'm adding to my prayers, that whatever wisdom God grants me to do this job I've been assigned to do, He frames it within a quadrupled dose of humility, so that my pride is tamed, kept in check, tucked away in a sealed lock-box, and I can work the next three years knowing who my King is and who I truly work for.  In Christ's Name.  Amen!