THE TRAGEDY OF WEAK LEADERSHIP

Num 13:2-3, 30-33 KJV
2 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
3 And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

We must take note of the following:
1. The instruction to search out the land of Canaan was given by God to Moses. If God had said this, then He was behind it.
2. God had up till this point demonstrated signs and wonders by the hand of Moses never before seen in recorded history. There should have been no reason to doubt His capacity to deliver His promises.
3. The twelve men sent were actually LEADERS in their various tribes, not mere men, not commoners. Men with pedigree and commanding much respect in their various circles. Their opinion mattered.

These esteemed and chosen leaders were assigned to spy out the land and bring back report on the topography, flora, people and their strengths and weaknesses for effective planning and strategizing (yes, in God there's still place for personal planning and strategizing).
The challenge was not that they saw and reported the giants, that was part of their mission: reconnaissance. They likewise reported the fruitfulness and beauty of the land. That was just laying out the facts. No harm.

But beyond that, they choose to give expression to emotions of fear and deep negativity with the exception of Caleb. As leaders, that was unacceptable. As leaders, that was deadly and devastating.
No wonder, the people began to weep and cry because these leaders were respected and held in high regard. Hence their opinion transcended facts and became truth to the people.

Everything that God had ever done, His great power, His wonders, went out the window. The negativity and fear spread like wildfire and blanketed the entire nation like a dark cloud. No wonder God was irate beyond pacification.

Result? None of that present generation made it into that very land. They never saw the land, the reason they left Egypt.

The tragedy of weak, vision less leadership. It's takes a courageous heart to follow change. Change is disruptive. A lot of people in leadership lack the spine and the steel to birth a new experience.
They receive a vision and a mission from God, or some worthy ideal, but they see the problems and refuse to venture forth.

Leaders are problem solvers. Leaders are meant to engage and not retreat, once the objective and course is clear and well established.
But when leaders fail, nations fail, dreams die, destiny is buried, the led suffer.

We need purposeful, fearless leadership in society, in the church, in the family etc. A father that lacks heart and drive will lead his family nowhere, will leave nothing for posterity to celebrate. Same for the church, same for the nation.

But the truth is everyone of us is born a potential leader. There's a seed of leadership in all of us, waiting to be nurtured, to grow forth. At some point, in our journey of life, we'll come into leadership, at some level; as a parent, among peers, in the community we live, taking a position in the church etc, so long as we are grow and mature.

Ouestion is, what kind of leader will you be? One that your generation, family, church etc will be proud of, for leading them into a new era of greater glory. Or one that will kill vision, purpose and bury the future of the led.

It takes a leader's heart to manifest God's plan, His purpose and desire for a generation, a nation or any smaller unit.

You are a leader.

The question is, what kind of leader?

2Ch 32:7-8 KJV 7 Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: 8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Stay blessed.