Who wants to be a leader in these strange times?

Sometimes we have no other choice because God puts the people he wants in a leadership role whether we have asked for it or not. And I have found that more often than not God chooses people to lead who would rather be left alone and not be responsible for the life of others. I’m a case in point. Reading in a cabin in the Colorado Mountains for the next 30 years sounds great to me, but God seems to have other plans.

So I often ask myself, what does it mean to lead?

Leadership is a difficult skill to understand and acquire. How do you as a leader of people make the best decisions for them and then motivate those same people to want to join you in those decisions? Empathy is now being touted as the golden key to leadership. The popular teaching in leadership circles is recognizing the importance of having care about those people who are under you in your decision making process. But the problem with throwing out a general term like empathy is that people mistake the word compassion for it, and then see compassion as the only thing that is required for good leadership. But empathy comes in many forms, it is not just expressed in compassion, it can also be seen in motivation, encouragement, and even a good kick in the pants. A good leader is most often asked to make decisions that will cause short term pain to avoid long term misery. So empathy may seem lacking in the immediate because empathy in the long term matters more. 

Hebrews is really clear on this, “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” So how do you practically do this? Take Dwight Eisenhower for an example…

Dwight Eisenhower was chosen to be the Supreme Commander for the Allied invasion of Normandy during the height of World War 2 because he was known to be a man of courage and vision. His mission at Normandy was to take the beachhead that was heavily defended by the German Wehrmacht. If the Allies could take the beachhead, they could move closer to victory and end the war. The problem is that Eisenhower knew the Allied Forces would sustain many casualties in accomplishing this. He also knew gaining a foothold in Europe would be the first necessary step to stop Hitler and his nefarious plans to rule all of Europe.

So on June 6, 1944 the invasion known as D-Day began. It was brutal and bloody, but because of the heroism of the self-sacrificing troops, the invasion marked the beginning of Hitler’s end.

What if for the sake of “empathy” Eisenhower took on the heart of a medic rather than move forward with the vision of a Five-Star General? Simple, the threat of many casualties would probably have been too much for him to launch the risky invasion. A medic wants to save lives, a General wants to win battles. The heart of the medic is to be commended, but if the medic replaces the General an army may “initially” save many more lives in their decision not to move forward – but they will they lose the war itself. And if they lose the war, eventually the “casualties” they would sustain later on would most definitely be far worse and more numerous than the original number as the year and years role on under a Tyrant’s oppression. If Germany would have won, there is no telling how much more sorrow would have been endured worldwide.

2020 was the year we let the medics take over. “Saving Lives” was top priory, and rightly so, but from hindsight I fear it may have been at the cost of sacrificing everything else. If we don’t value the vision of the Generals that work and lead in our midst we may end up losing all of the most important battles at the hands of “empathy”. Compassion is important, but never substitute it for real empathy. Sometimes empathy allows you to hurt.

May God grant us courage to make the year 2021 into a hope filled world.