What is leading your decisions?
In Twitter’s hay day it was popular for people to post the hashtag #youngminister and then give advice. I don’t remember posting advice with that hashtag, but I did enjoy reading the wisdom that came from more experienced leaders than me.
I think if Moses was to use the hashtag #youngminister he would give advice that resembles the actions of the young leader Moses was mentoring in Exodus. We can see what happens here:
Exodus 33:11 – “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.”
Long before Joshua had the opportunity to lead, he learned the principle of lingering. He positioned himself in the presence of God before taking a position leading the people of God. He was learning to be led by his principles instead of his opportunities.
Are you led by your principles or by your opportunities?
Being led by your opportunities will get you immediate recognition, but it will also get you out of position for long term success. Being led by your principles may cause you to miss out on some immediate praise and attention, but the long term reward will be worth it. Those who are led by opportunity over value how they start the race while those who are led by principle understand it is more important how you finish the race.
It would be decades before Joshua took his place as leader of Israel. During that time he learned the value of positioning himself in the presence of God instead of the presence of man. The result is he became one of the greatest leaders in the Bible. He led the people into their promised inheritance and saw many great victories.
We should be led by our principles instead of our opportunities. Prioritizing principles over opportunities leads to long term success. This doesn’t mean we should avoid great opportunities. Valuing your principles above your opportunities will actually bring much better opportunities. The question is which is more important to you?
Joshua’s #youngminister example shows us that positioning ourselves before men may bring immediate recognition, but positioning ourselves before God brings long term stability, success, and strength.
