After God rejected Saul as King of Israel, He sent Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint a new king from the family of Jesse. Yet, Saul was still very much in control as the ruling king. Talk about awkward! Samuel had every right to be concerned about Saul finding out and trying to kill him. The solution – God instructs Samuel to use subtle deception by announcing that he was in Bethlehem to offer a sacrifice to the Lord (1 Sam. 16:1-3). Sometimes, in our leadership, we need to mask or downplay some of our intentions. As we do so, we must be careful that we don’t blatantly deceive. Samuel revealed part of his plan, but not everything. Now, I wouldn't want to develop a theology of subtle deception on this one act. Yet, perhaps, there is a place for holy shrewdness in our ministries. What do you think?

Samuel was devastated over King Saul’s disobedience. He mourned for him. Yet, there came a time when Samuel needed to move on. “The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king’” (1 Sam. 16:1).

Even though it’s important that we process our losses in a healthy way, we need to eventually take steps through our grief – “to be on our way.” As leaders, we will sometimes be disappointed with others on the team (and them with us). They may be underperforming or even making unwise decisions. Obviously, we need to encourage them and provide what we can so that they can develop as leaders. Yet, sometimes, we need to simply move on to the next person that God has for the team (while helping the original person transition into the next ministry God has for him or her). It’s hard, but a necessary part of good team leadership.

Jordy and I were best buds until that fateful day when Mrs. Snodgrass stepped into our grade two class. She was a rather big and imposing substitute teacher. All was going reasonably well until she bent over to help the student sitting in front of me. Jordy, who was sitting behind me, took out his ruler and gave Mrs. Snodgrass a slap on her backside. Now, you need to realize that Jordy was extremely quick and was able to get back into his desk and assume an air of innocence before Mrs. Snodgrass could turn around. For some strange reason, I couldn’t stop laughing. As Mrs. Snodgrass glared at the class, her eyes fell on the one person who thought this was the most hilarious event to ever occur at Caronport Elementary School. In her eyes, I was obviously the guilty party. She accused me, yelled at me and threatened to give me a strap. The only thing that saved me was that she didn’t see the ruler-wielding culprit in action and she couldn’t force a confession out of me (I did manage, between guffaws, to deny all wrongdoing).

As I reflect on this memorable experience, I am mindful that that we are sometimes wrongly accused or people misinterpret our motives. Obviously, there are times when we need to defend our innocence or explain our motives. Yet, I am mindful of the counter-cultural example of Jesus who “did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly” (1 Pet. 2:23 NLT). I would like to have more of Jesus’ grace and humility in my heart as I interact with those who may think that I’m the culprit.