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I am a
die-hard football fan. (American football, College and of course, The NFL) My
weekends are so empty and aimless from February until August. They are filled
with useless things until that first joy filled day of hope in August when the
Hall of Fame game is televised, officially announcing the start of pre-season.
Ah, the smell of fresh pigskin and the sound of helmets cracking up against one
another- isn’t it just the best! The only reason why I tried out for
cheerleading in high school was because, back in my days, girls were not
allowed to try out for the football team. Cheering from the sidelines was as
close as I could get, which also meant I did more watching of the game, then
actually cheering for it- much to my coach’s displeasure.
One of
my favorite positions on the football team is the quarterback. The skill and
the knowledge that it takes to play that position are not learned, they are a
gift. In my opinion, there are not many gifted quarterbacks in the league
today, well, except for maybe Drew Brees, the quarterback for my beloved New
Orleans Saints. But then again, even Drew Brees is only as good as the team
around him. No matter how on target and how on time his throws are if his receivers
are off the he is going to be off as well. But, even if his receivers are on
point and running the right routes, if his blockers don’t block he will be on
the ground before he can even get the pass off. Without his team being on the
same page as he is, they will never win a game. (This may explain last season!)
These
new adventures that we are on are no different than your average football team.
Running a company, building a business or starting a ministry takes not only
your commitment and your dedication, but it takes the same commitment from the
people around you. You can have all the skills, and knowledge and gifts to do
the work, but if no one else is on the same page as you are, you might as well
throw in the towel and give up the season.
This
part of our new adventure takes us back to the book of Nehemiah where we revisit
the people of Israel. They have celebrated the festival of booths; they have
confessed their sins and remembered the work of God through their fathers and
even now, as He has led them to Jerusalem to start anew. (We are actually going
to come back to chapter 9 later on our journey’s, but for now we are going to
skip ahead.) Let’s visit the last verse in Chapter 9 as we dive into this next
step in our adventure.
“Because
of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed documents are the
name of our princes, our Levites, and our priests. On the seals are the names
of Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, Zedekiah, Seraiah…” (Nehemiah goes
on to list a bunch of names that I won’t list for you- you can go and read for
yourselves.) Nehemiah 9:38-10:27 ESV
Nehemiah
and the people with him set a seal upon a covenant. A seal was a fixed mark or
marking that made the documents official. It says that the people who have
signed this document agree to all the terms listed in the agreement, each one
committed to doing their part. In business these documents could be our
business plans, our job descriptions, and our expectations for the people who
work or serve alongside us. Nehemiah and the leaders, the Levites, and the
priests agreed to do all that was written within. Each person was committed and
willing to fulfill the requirements.
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We need
to ask ourselves if we are willing to do what is necessary to be successful.
Building a business, starting a ministry, or even saying “I Do” takes a
commitment on a very large scale. If you are passionate and willing, that is
good, but passion can wane and wax cold when the going gets tough. Passion is
not the same as commitment; don’t mistake one for the other. Before we go any further
on this journey we need to take a minute, a day, or even a week to pray and
examine your heart before the Lord. Are you passionate or are you committed? Make
sure you are willing to do what it takes to finish this journey- your passion
and desire may wane, but your commitment needs to remain strong.
“The rest
of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the
temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the
land to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have
knowledge and understanding, join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter
into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses the
servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord
and His rules and His statutes.” Nehemiah 10:28-29 ESV
Next we
see the people of Israel, those who would be under the rule of the governors,
the princes and the priests, agreeing to do their part as well. It is so very
important to have like-minded, committed people with you and working for you.
Just like Drew Brees is only as good as Marcus Colston or Pierre Thomas, we are
only as good as those who work for us.
Notice
in verse 29 we are told that the people “join with their brothers, their nobles”.
The people didn’t just clock in and clock out. They joined with their leaders.
Finding good help can be difficult, but it is not impossible. For many years I worked
in upper management for various corporations. Finding people who were committed
and wanting to work was difficult, and keeping those who were committed from
leaving for a better position was even harder. But, your commitment not your
passion is what will draw people to want to get behind you and will cause them
to join with you. A committed leader is a leader people will walk with- be
committed for them, as well as for yourself.
The word
join actually means to make stronger, to strengthen. Surround yourself with
those who build you up instead of tearing you down. Just because your brother’s
son is old enough to work in the business, doesn’t mean he should. Be ready and
willing to let go and add when and where you need to when it comes to the
people who work with you.
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Nehemiah
10:30-39 lists for us the things that the people agreed to do. (Feel free to go
and read on your own time.) They agreed that they would not let their daughters
and sons marry foreigners (vs. 30). They agreed to not buy or sell on the
Sabbath day (vs. 31). They agreed to do a number of things for the benefit of
the city as well as its people. The New King James Version says that they “made
ordinances” while the English Standard Version says that they “obligated”
themselves to do these things. An ordinance is a rule. It is a guideline that
is written down so that people know what they are supposed to be doing and how
they are supposed to be doing it. If your wide receiver doesn’t know what route
he is supposed to be running and goes right while you are trying to throw left,
what is going to happen? Most likely the corner or the safety is going to
intercept and run it into the end zone. No matter what you are building, or
what business you are in, if the people don’t know what they are supposed to be
doing, then all that commitment is for nothing.
Even in
our homes and our daily lives if we don’t know what to do, we will never get it
done. Running a company or starting a ministry without clear direction in
regards to everyone’s role is like telling my son to go and mow the lawn
without teaching him how to turn on the mower. You are the quarterback of your
team. Your wide receivers need to know the routes they are supposed to be
running, and your blockers need to know when to block. Our God is a God of
order. He does not just throw us into a new adventure without a play book, and
we should not expect those with us or under us to go without one either. Get
your people in order, and let them know what is expected of them, what kind of
commitment it will take. Who knows, if we do this right, we just might win the
next Super Bowl! Go Saints!
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