The Character of Leadership: Moses

In this study of the character of leaders, I find myself thinking about “the character of characters.” A “character” is a person, often someone who plays a part in a story and is an example from whom we can learn, but it is also a trait or attribute that can be applied to that person and to his/her leadership. When we study the character of that character – identifying biblical characters, and then identifying something in their character that can teach us something about who we are and how we lead – we learn things about the character of leadership that can be applied in our own lives. In this week’s episode, we are learning from Moses.

When I introduced this idea of studying the character of characters last week, I shared a personal illustration of my dad doing a temperament analysis on me and finding that my temperament was comparable to Moses’. So it only seems fitting to me that Moses is the first character that I talk about, and we’ll start with a little bit of brief overview of that character – of who he was.

We know that Moses was the deliverer of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. Because of his role, he is an incredibly significant figure in the Bible story. He was rescued from potential death and destruction as an infant, to be raised in the household of royalty. He stepped in to defend his people, but tried to do it in his own terms and in his own way, which sent him off to a period of isolation for a long time. It was in that desert experience that God prepared him for the task that he would have, the one for which God had appointed him. In that task, he interacted with the pharaoh, speaking on behalf of God, to be the instrument that God used not only to free the people from slavery, but to also show how this deliverance would be a picture of the coming deliverance of sin through the Savior Jesus Christ. Moses then led his people out of Egypt, to the threshold of the promised land, where they refused to trust God, and then Moses was tasked with leading the people for another 40 years as they wandered around in the desert until God‘s chastisement and judgment was complete for the sin that they had committed. In the end, Moses was never privileged to see the place to which he was called to deliver the people.

I know that is a woefully inadequate summary of who Moses was, but even in that very brief overview, there are a number of character traits or attributes that we could pull from the life of Moses, from the character of this character, but let me point out one or two that I go together and apply to your leadership struggle. I think one of the more interesting ones that we probably don’t think about that much is that of a lack of confidence and feelings of inadequacy, which we tend to refer to as the imposter syndrome. I know that Scripture doesn’t say this directly, but based on his comments and his experience, I have to wonder if Moses often felt like he was not capable of doing the job. I think he knew that, even though he was raised in the royal household, he was not actually royalty, but he had to act like it. When that season was behind him, and God spoke to him at the burning bush, he tried to find every way possible to get out of the job because he didn’t think he could handle it and he didn’t think he had the skills to do it. When the people were wandering in the wilderness, and they were complaining, Moses would cry out to God and ask why he was given these people to have to take care of. All of those things in some way reflect the hidden personal fear of incompetence or inadequacy. It is the feeling that you are not cut out for this, or that you are in over your head, or that you’re just not capable and eventually everyone will figure out that you’re not and that you have been faking it all along – again, known as the imposter syndrome.

I think the reason why it’s good for us to see this perspective of Moses’ character is because leaders often struggle with feeling like they’re not really capable, but having to pretend like they are while not letting anyone know the struggle. They know how much they don’t know, they know where they are lacking (even if other people can’t see it) and that’s what makes them struggle. I know, because I have been there. However, the other side of this that we see in the character of Moses is a commitment to the call that God had given. When Moses said to God that he was not capable, God reminded Moses of the Lord‘s presence, and then equipped him with the tools that he needed, and sent him to do the task anyway. God wasn’t depending on Moses’ capability, but rather expecting Moses to depend on God’s. And because Moses knew that he was not adequate but believed that God was, Moses obeyed, committed to carrying out the task to which God had called him. When the people complained in the wilderness, Moses continued to be faithful and to serve God and the task to which he was called and even defended the people when God would get angry with them. He remain committed to obedient action, regardless of how he felt.

So when we look at the character of this character, Moses, I think those are tremendous lessons for us. You may be good at what you do, but you also know where your flaws and faults are, and you know where you struggle, even when others are not aware. Remember that when you are called to a task, God is not depending on you, rather, you are depending on God. He has equipped you, He has a plan and purpose, He knows what you can and cannot do and what He has equipped and prepared you to do, and He’s placed you in a position for a purpose. Commit to faithfully obeying and serving the Lord, regardless of how you feel, knowing that God is God and he has a plan, and you get to be part of it.