Theme: DIALOGUE
Text: “And Moses’ father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God.” – Exodus 18:17-19.
Comment: Jethro was the father of Zipporah, the wife of Moses, who bore him two sons – Gershom and Eliezer. Jethro was concerned for the health of Moses, his son-in-law, when he discovered that he sat all day attending to the complaints of his people, He knew the management style adopted by Moses was cumbersome. Therefore, Jethro spared no effort in engaging Moses in a dialogue that would relieve him of the pressure. Moses, the Bible says, “hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said. He chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens”. (Verses 24,25) All those who occupy leadership positions should borrow a leaf from Moses who accepted the wise counsel of Jethro. Effective governance involves the delegation of duties to people, as no ruler can do it all alone. Leadership goes with a high degree of humility, honesty, trust, self-denial and so on. God Almighty, speaking to David the Prophet said: “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God”. (2 Samuel 23:3) Leaders should be broad-minded to accommodate the expectations of the people on whose mandate their authority is established. The Holy Bible says, “Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellers they are established.” – Proverbs 15:22.