What is more important strength or willingness? If you are looking for new up and coming leaders what trait is more valuable? Of course both are, but if you had to choose one or the other what would it be? Check this out…
Numbers 13:1-16
13 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Send men to explore Canaan, which I’m giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of their ancestors’ tribes.”
3 So at the Lord’s command, Moses sent these men from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.
4 These are their names:
Shammua, son of Zaccur, from the tribe of Reuben;
5 Shaphat, son of Hori, from the tribe of Simeon;
6 Caleb, son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah;
7 Igal, son of Joseph, from the tribe of Issachar;
8 Hoshea, son of Nun, from the tribe of Ephraim;
9 Palti, son of Raphu, from the tribe of Benjamin;
10 Gaddiel, son of Sodi, from the tribe of Zebulun;
11 Gaddi, son of Susi, from the tribe of Joseph (that is, the tribe of Manasseh);
12 Ammiel, son of Gemalli, from the tribe of Dan;
13 Sethur, son of Michael, from the tribe of Asher;
14 Nahbi, son of Vophsi, from the tribe of Naphtali;
15 Geuel, son of Machi, from the tribe of Gad.
16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. But Moses gave Hoshea, son of Nun, the name Joshua.
Moses chose 12 leaders from each tribe to send out and scope the promise that God had given them for a land of abundance. These were not just any men either, they were the cream of the crop, the best from each tribe. It’s interesting that we only talk about 2 though; Joshua & Caleb. The rest of the leaders we never hear of again. They virtually disappear from scripture. Why is it that we only know of Joshua & Caleb? We know that the other 10 that were chosen came back after scouting and reported a can’t do it attitude. They said that there were giants inhabiting the land. Their lack of willingness to step out in faith sacked their leadership. It was only Joshua & Caleb who were willing to step out and move into the land promised to them. Everyone was strong in terms of leadership, but only 2 were willing to move beyond what they had ever known. The other 10 were stuck in their unwillingess.
Willingness is better than strength. In fact, when we only stand on our strength we will eventually run out of it. But willingness always moves forward. It never stops pursuing more. You can’t keep willingness down; it is always advancing. The greatest trait I look for in new leaders is willingness. I don’t always want the strongest person, but I always want the most willing. When someone shows a willing attitude to do whatever it takes to get something done I will always choose that person. Someone who is willing, is shapable. They are not stuck in their dogmatic routines. Strength can breed pride, as where willingness stays humble. Don’t get me wrong though, strength can be a great thing, but willingness is sometimes even stronger. When coach John Wooden chose the captains of his basketball team he would wait until after the first few games to see who really wanted the ball when the game was on the line. He was looking for willingness which gave him the indication he needed to know who should be the captain.
If you are looking for upcoming leaders value willingness over strength. You can always train and develop strengths, but it is very difficult to train and develop willingness.
The challenge:
- Stay humble and willing to do whatever it takes. Always be a student and you will grow into greater opportunities.
- When looking for potential leaders always keep an eye on willingness above everything else.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.