That Kind of Leader

     Because it is impossible to anticipate every eventuality when orders are given, Army commanders are taught to clearly express their general intent to their subordinate leaders.  This way, subordinates can make timely and effective decisions when confronted with circumstances about which no specific order has been issued by the commander. 

     Once, when I was a young Captain, I made a decision in my battalion commander’s absence that violated the intent that he had expressed to me upon his departure.  My decision was not earth shattering or even objectively bad—it was just inconsistent with his intent.  My reasons for doing so were not evil, they were weak.  In my commander’s absence I had succumbed to the pressure of other officers who exceeded me in rank, but  not in the authority that had been delegated to me by my commander.  When I made the decision, I knew it was wrong.  When my commander returned and discovered my decision, he angrily demanded my explanation.  I expect that he thought I had been distracted or even that he had not communicated his intent to me clearly.  When he discovered the true reason, his anger was replaced by disappointment.  I suppose he was surprised that I lacked sufficient character to resist the temptation to compromise his instructions while he was gone for only a few days.  I was 27 years old at the time.  I am fairly certain I would not make the same mistake today—in part because that commander continued to invest in the development of my character, despite the fact that I had let him down.  He was that kind of leader. 

     Christ, commander of commanders, has left his Kingdom in the charge of his followers.  In his absence, we have His clearly expressed intent available to us through Scripture.  Despite the clarity of this intent and my sincere desire to obey Him, I have violated (and continue to violate) His intent in ways both large and small.  When He returns, I expect he will demand of me an accounting for having compromised His will and left his Kingdom so poorly led.  What then a lovely thing grace is Brethren.  For as my Army commander forgave my errors, so then does Christ—again and again, reforming each failure into a brick upon which my character can be founded.  He is that kind of leader.