Issue #137, September 3, 2014
David seemed ready to lead! He had a shepherd’s heart, a sense of identity, a clear life purpose, the anointing of God, and a true friend. But God had at least two more difficult leadership lessons that he needed to learn before he was ready for the throne. First, he needed to successfully follow an insecure leader.
Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul’s officers as well. When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David (1Samuel 18:5-9). Saul responded to David’s success with jealously and anger that continued to grow in intensity over time. Saul was an insecure leader, not confident of who God had called him to be and continually trying to prove that he was the real leader. Like all insecure leaders, he was threatened by the success of a subordinate. David’s response to Saul in the rest of this chapter shows all servant leaders the ABC’s of how to respond when following an insecure leader.
Avoid the spears!
Twice Samuel records that David eluded the spear of Saul which was intended for death. (See 1 Samuel 18:10) Dodge the attacks. Don’t take these attacks personally. Don’t let them destroy your call to lead. Don’t allow them to pierce your soul and convince you that God has not called you to leadership. These ‘spears’ will cause a loss of focus, kill initiative and plant seeds of resistance. They must be avoided.
Battle the enemy.
When faced with vicious attacks from an insecure leader, many leaders fight back. But David did not pick up the spear and throw it back! He was capable of this and no doubt thought about it. But he did not respond in the same spirit as Saul because David recognized that the real enemy was not the insecure Saul but the Philistine army. He knew God had called him for a higher purpose than fighting Saul and he recognized that Saul could not keep him from fulfilling God’s purpose for his life. When leaders oppose you, it is natural to turn your energy towards fighting them. But returning spears will never solve the issue since insecure leaders will respond with more spears! Servant leaders realize that those who rise to power through conflict will always be surrounded with conflict. Identify God’s enemy and focus your energy on that battle.
Continue with humility.
It would have seemed an easy solution for David to simply stop leading and avoid the wrath of Saul. But he was called to lead and would not allow Saul’s insecurity to rob him of that call. It would also have been easy, and in some ways correct, for David to think “I am better than Saul.” But David was twice presented with the opportunity to become a son-in-law to the king and both times responded with genuine humility. It was not that he was ignorant of Saul’s evil intent; but he was not seeking Saul’s position. David did not allow the insecurity of Saul to change his disposition nor keep him from moving forward. He continued with humility.
For further reflection and discussion:
- Reflect on any experience you have had working under an insecure leader. What were the ‘arrows’ thrown at you? In what way were these arrows designed by the enemy to derail your leadership journey? Did you respond as David or did you allow these arrows to pierce your soul?
- Identify for yourself the prime enemy towards which God is calling you to invest your leadership energy. Who or what is that enemy? In what ways have you been distracted from focusing on the true enemy and what has been the result in your life and leadership?
- If you are currently serving under an insecure leader take a moment to examine your heart. Do you find humility or pride? Respond to God in prayer as you reflect on David’s example.
- While this issue focused on our response to insecure leaders, take a moment to examine the other side of the issue. Does my own leadership reflect jealously or anger towards those who succeed under me? Am I able to bless and affirm the gifts of younger leaders?