PEOPLE PALAVER

“They angered Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses on account of them.” ~ Psalm 106:32

REFERENCE:

Psalm 106:32-35

Every leader’s nightmare is a ‘people palaver’ (trouble, nuisance, fuss). Any leader or business owner will tell you that one of the significant challenges they have to grapple with is people. Nobody ever puts on their resume that, “I am a gossip; I am very rude; I take what isn’t mine; I cannot be trusted.” These traits show up only after they join the team with their glowing resume.

In Numbers 12:3, Moses is described as the meekest of all men on the face of the earth. He was Israel’s great leader, prophet, intercessor, and deliverer of Israel. He had the divine mandate to lead a minimum of four million people into the fullness of God’s will and purpose for them. One would think that if any man were to succeed in his mission and have a scoresheet that reads, ‘He pleased God,’ it would be Moses, but not so; he failed and missed the promise of entering the Land.

Why did Moses fail? People palaver. The people got under his skin – they complained against him, questioned his leadership and authority, accused him, and revolted against him and Aaron. When they got to the wilderness, they charged God with a fault that He brought them to a wasteland without water, claiming that He planned to kill them and their animals and that He should have left them in Egypt or allowed them to die with those who died earlier, than be in a desert land.

The people forgot the wonders that God performed through Moses’s hands and reviled him. Moses was angry, and he struck the rock to give Israel water, although God said, “Speak to it.” The vexation of the people made the meekest man act in pride and anger. God rebuked him for dishonoring Him before the people and vowed that Moses would not enter the Land.

It seems unfair that God would hold Moses responsible for the misbehavior and the people’s sense of entitlement, but that is leadership. Are you a leader, or are you under a leader? Your actions can make or break your team. Understand that your leader is a man doing his best; pray for and support him, and do not be a source of pain. That act will be pleasing to God.

PHOTO QUOTE

ADDITIONAL TEXTS:

Numbers 20:3-13 and Hebrews 13:17-18

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PRAYER:

+ Take time to pray for those that God has placed in leadership over you. Pray for the help and grace of God for them. Pray that they will succeed. Pray that you will make their work easier.

+ Repent for times that you have grieved the heart of your boss, leader, supervisor, or pastor.

+ Ask God for the grace to honor Him through the constituted authority around you.