The Blind Leader

Why great men fail – those with the opportunity to rise up fail – four characters in the Bible who were on a trajectory of leadership, but ended life at the bottom of the heap, and what can we learn from them that can change our own leadership.

Why Do Leaders Self-Destruct?

Having great leadership capabilities is not enough for you to be a great leader. Leadership is seen to be about skill and competence, and little to do with character – they are chosen on the single qualification of what they can do and deliver and move the masses. Yet it has everything to do with character. To have character and not competence leads to nothing more than aimless existence, never producing results. Leadership is about character and competence.

Psalms 78:72

“He chose David his servant, and took him from the sheep pens; 71 from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. 72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them”

Read the story of Samson, from Judges 13.

God equipped him with all the strength and resources required for the task he was being raised up for – the salvation of Israel from the hand of her enemies. With such a beginning, what went wrong? What were the hidden flaws?

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5 Lessons From Samson

• Spirit Of Entanglement – Entitlement is when you think or feel you deserve to be treated as special. The more power you wield, the more you rise in stature, the more the spirit of entitlement will descend upon you. Watch out!

• No Respect For Boundaries – Samson lived a reckless flippant life without considering boundaries. God declared he would be a Nazarite for life (see Numbers 6) – voluntary vow, forbid yourself from alcohol, anything unclean and could not cut your hair (also John the Baptist)…In Timnah, he comes across a lion he had killed. he scoops out honey out of it, even though the animal is dead and unclean – he doesn’t follow the rules of man or God – wherever he went, he irked people for whatever reason – he irks the Israelites when he is approached by the Israelites.

• Impulsive and Predictable – He did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted – catches 300 foxes, sets their tails on fire, and sends them out into the wheat-fields of the Philistines, burning their grain – why? No good reason, just being impulsive and reckless…He sleeps with a prostitute, tears down the grates of the city and carries them off – Why?, just to show off because he could do it.

• Increasingly Boastful – Delilah finally compromises his strength after he cuts his hair off – he boasts and says he will still destroy the Philistines. He had lost sight of the Lord completely and the Lord had finally had enough. He crossed the line one too many times, he had come to believe more in his strength and ability then in the God who gave him that strength.

Judges 16:20

“Then she called, Samson, the Philistines are upon you! He awoke from his sleep and thought, I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.”

• Disastrous Desire For Sex – No restraint with women, strong before men and weak before women. In his life, the thing that stands out most is his womanising; three women, eventually led to his downfall.

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How many great men have fallen for these reasons?

Samson had was the flaw of character. He had opportunity and resources but no character. So God took away his strength and position, humbling and breaking him. The only time we see him cry out to the Lord and recognize God is when he was finally chained and broken – 16:28, he prayed “remember me…just once more“. His pride and self-focus blinded him – he forgot why he was raised by God – eventually, his pride and honor became his biggest mission in life. God eventually brought him down.

As God raises you in success and leadership, what will it do to you? What will greatness and power and position make of you? How will your leadership and privilege blind you to the greater purposes of God? When the accolades and praise come your way, what will it do to you and your character?

Proverbs 27:21

“Fire tests the purity of silver, and a furnace purifies gold, but it is a man;s character is tested by praise“

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2 Lessons We Can Learn From This

• God Humbled Samson – God made him blind. Sunshine was his name, but he lived in darkness. Yet God so loved Samson that he blinded him and brought him down. its God’s strange mercy. Removed his eyes to help him see his own need for God. What would God have to remove in your life to help you keep your eyes focused on him as he raises you up?

• God’s Calls Is Irrevocable – Even though he was so obstinate, God still used him to deliver Israel. How many have a very clear call from God, but we are that obstinate unyielding beast that will not follow the will of the Lord, and God needs to blind us. His call is irrevocable – if God has set you apart, he will accomplish his purpose whether he needs to break you or not. How then, will you serve him? God will tame you if he needs to crush you, because his will is irrevocable. Samson was a Nazarite, yet you and I have been set apart as God’s children. How much Samson is there in you that needs to be blinded and broken that you may submit to God?

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Download the audio or play here;

or watch the video here;

01 The Blind Side Part 1 (Legends of the Fall) from Mavuno Church on Vimeo.

01 The Blind Side Part 2 (Legends of the Fall) from Mavuno Church on Vimeo.

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