As I continue to look at the Bible through leadership lenses, I am amazed at what I see! In this morning’s Bible reading (Exodus 25-26), I read the text where God gave Moses some of the instructions for building the Tabernacle and a few of the pieces of furniture.
Ordinarily I would have thought, “Well, I’m not planning to build a full-size Tabernacle anytime soon so how is this relevant?” Or, if I had a little more spiritual insight, I would have looked for the goldmine of spiritual truth embedded in the specifics of how the Tabernacle was assembled.
As I read through this story with leadership glasses, I saw some pretty relevant leadership principles! I’ll focus on only one of them.
Leadership is not only influence – it is also the ability to inspire others to do things they might not do on their own. Left to themselves, many folks have the ability to get things done but lack the desire or direction to use their gifts to accomplish worthy tasks. So, it is left to the leader to inspire and motivate those under their authority to use their God-given gifts.
We see in the text that God gave Moses clear instruction regarding what materials to use and the specific dimensions for the construction of the Tabernacle. Yet, God didn’t want Moses to do it. God told Moses to get the people to do the task.
As Moses took notes, he realized that he had a major task ahead. He would need to inspire the Israelites to give of their wealth for this building project and then use their skills to build it.
Exodus 25:1-2 (New Living Translation)
“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Tell the people of Israel to bring me their sacred offerings. Accept the contributions from all whose hearts are moved to offer them.’”
Exodus 25:8 (New Living Translation)
The Lord told Moses: “Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them.”
There are many different ways that we can motivate others to give and work. I have been in leadership positions in a secular workplace and know the power of the dollar. When I held someone’s livelihood in my hand, I knew that I had more than sufficient ability to get my employees to do what I expected.
Yet, Moses didn’t hold the Israelites’ paycheck in his hand. They could easily have turned around and gone back to Egypt leaving him, a leader, without any followers.
He couldn’t simply tell the Israelites what to do and expect them to comply. He needed to find a way to present God’s instructions in a way that would inspire them to give and work.
How do you motivate others? Whether you’re a parent or boss, pastor or non-profit organizer, how do you get others to perform?
Do those under your leadership feel forced to comply with your demands or do they follow because you inspire them? Leading by inspiring folks is a little more difficult because it requires the leader to be creative. But, it creates a much healthier environment and enables folks to perform at a much higher level.
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