Today’s Scripture: 2 Kings 6:3
If you are a leader (in reality, we ALL have someone following us), the demands of responsibility can keep you from focusing on what is most important—the people you lead. Elisha apparently understood this very well. When the student asked him to join in building a larger facility (see 2 Kings 6:3), Elisha never hesitated. If he was going to be a mentor to these men, he needed to set the example. It was important that the followers observe their leader in a different setting. Who knows? The miracle of retrieving the lost ax head may have never taken place had Elisha not gone with them.
Elisha knew the difference between doing and being. He couldn’t just go through the motions. He needed to become a mentor by embracing all aspects and responsibilities of this position. Similar to a person who goes through the shallow external motions of Christianity instead of “being” a Christ-follower by accepting internal change. It is vital that we first develop within our own selves what we expect others to become.
- What are you “doing” that you need to “be” instead?
- Is there anything in your life that you would not want someone following you to emulate? How can you become a person of greater integrity?