And/Or

David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.” Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.” So they all praised the Lord, the God of their fathers; they bowed down, prostrating themselves before the Lord and the king. – 1 Chronicles 29:10-20

When Lee Iacocca was leading Chrysler through their turnaround in the 1980’s, he provided a great example of a business leader who immersed himself into the work of leading a company. His presence cast a large shadow over the corporation, over Detroit, and over much of the business world. For quite some time, and even to an extent today, he was looked upon as an effective leader. During the height of Chrysler’s rise and His own personal popularity, Iacocca did commercials for Chrysler that emphasized a method of leadership that he tried to embody.  He implored his company and everyone who was a part of it to “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.”

This was a catchy and bold statement, bolstered by the personal success he achieved while revitalizing the automaker. He was telling everyone that he was in charge, he was moving the company forward and that he wanted everyone to take a role in making that happen. In business, this is not a bad thing.  After all, who wants to follow indecisive leaders? Organizations of any type cannot survive if their leader has no idea where to go or how to get the people within the organization to follow the vision.

That is part of what drew me to the 1 Chronicles passage. David is a leader – a powerful leader, anointed by God, chosen to lead the people of Israel through tremendous struggles and difficulties for forty years.  He made mistakes along the way, but as a leader of a nation, He was an example for the people in many ways.  Now that David’s tenure as king is nearing an end, he finds himself in a new role: overseeing the gathering of gifts for the construction of the temple – a structure that God would not let David build himself.

David’s response is to turn to God in prayer, and specifically a prayer of praise. David isn’t praying a wishy-washy, vague, “Do whatever you think is best” kind of prayer. He is offering serious praise to God for what He has done. He establishes God’s role as our great provider. He exalts God for his power and greatness and thanks Him for the abundance of His provision. He seeks God’s direction to help him and everyone else who will be embarking on this great undertaking – knowing full well that what they were doing was to be for the honor and glory of God and not Israel. It’s a powerful prayer and a mountaintop moment when it comes to David demonstrating his leadership. But unlike Mr. Iacocca, there is an important difference. Where Lee says to lead, follow, or get out of the way, David calls upon the people to lead, follow, AND get out of the way.

David leads by bringing the people to the face of God through His prayer, sharing of his deep love of God. What an important expression of a leadership for the nation. David shows the people that he is serious about his relationship with God and they dutifully follow his example. Our leaders today also have a duty to the people they lead to give that same example by what they say and more importantly by what they do – such as offering praise to God.

David follows the Word and commands of God. He did not do this perfectly, but this just shows us that we can also turn to God when we make mistakes: seeking repentance and receiving forgiveness. We too can benefit from the realization that God’s love for us far exceeds the mistakes we make. Through Christ’s redeeming resurrection, we are washed clean of our sin and able to enjoy a right relationship with the Father.

Finally, David gets out of the way. Too many Christians want to live lives where they can negotiate with God, seeking piety with parameters. Our post-modern age leads many Christians to believe the terms of their lives can be mutually agreed upon as if our world’s union representatives and heaven’s upper management are sitting down at the table to negotiate.  What is there to discuss? What else do we want? God has already bought us, paying a hefty price through the death of Jesus on our account. We can add nothing to this undeserved gift, so why do we try? We would be better served to get out of the way and live in the assurance of salvation.  Or maybe it is our sinful human nature taking us to a place where we think we can solve our own problems without God’s interference. Again, such a thought is foolish, selfish, and lacks trust in God to provide for us. Avoid this by asking God to impart trust and patience. It is hard to live by faith when we refuse to accept that our lives are not our own. Once that is understood, trusting God for everything becomes a more natural state of mind.

Lead. Follow. Get out of God’s way. Enjoy the blessings He gives you on earth as you anticipate the unimaginable joy to follow for eternity with Him in heaven.

Devotion by Richard Schumacher

LSEM Director of Programs & Services