My high school offered a speed-reading course as an elective, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I believe it helped me prepare for the huge reading load in college, because I learned how to identify key concepts at a glance and skim over the fluff. Consequently, I tend to skip repetitive sections when I read, but there is an interesting pattern in the book of Judges that caught my attention. In chapter 3:11-12, 5:31-6:1 and elsewhere, the author describes a good leader who ruled for a period of time (often decades!), and “the land was at peace” during that person’s reign. But then, that leader died, and the very next verse says that the people turned their backs on God … again.

 

It doesn’t take long for us to forget God’s ways, does it? Check out this passage from Isaiah 59:7-8 (NIRV): “They are always in a hurry to sin. They run quickly to murder those who aren’t guilty. Their thoughts are evil. They leave a trail of suffering and pain. They don’t know how to live at peace with others. What they do isn’t fair. They lead twisted lives. No one who lives like that will enjoy peace and rest.”

 

Sin often feels good, in the moment, or else we wouldn’t be tempted to do it. I would wager, however, that when Christ-followers sin, the Holy Spirit tugs at our hearts to try to talk us out of it. We can ignore those promptings, of course, and continue on our merry way, but the nudge to do what is right still lingers.

 

During his dialogue about traits we ought to emulate, Jesus said in Matthew 5:9 (MSG), “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.” I think that’s what the leaders in Judges did – they set an example for those around them to follow. Unfortunately, we – as followers – become accustomed to being told what to do, when, where & how that we risk failing to develop those traits within ourselves to become leaders. Consequently, when our leaders are gone, we turn back to our so-called natural tendencies and follow our old, sinful ways.

 

What would it take for us to move from Follower to Leader?