[stephenkhoo]

DEALING WITH INSECURITY IN LEADERSHIP
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 SM 24:3-21; Mk 3:13-19
http://www.universalis.com/20140124/mass.htm



In the gospel we read of the appointment of the Twelve. They were chosen by the Lord “to be his companions and to be sent out to preach, with power to cast out devils.” We too, like the apostles, have been chosen by virtue of our baptism to proclaim the Good News in our own ways. Being chosen by the Lord like the apostles is indeed a great privilege.

However, if we have been sensitive to the evangelist, we would surely notice the sentiment of regret in the poignant statement, after speaking of the choice of the Twelve, that Judas betrayed Jesus. We can feel the tinge of disappointment in the evangelist that one of the Twelve could have betrayed Jesus. Yet, this should give us cause for sadness too because we who are also leaders in our own right, whether as leaders in the Christian community, at the office or at home, could be the very ones who would betray our master. In what ways would we betray our master?

The greatest cause of a leader’s downfall is his insecurity. Of course, his insecurity springs from his egotism and pride. As a further consequence of his insecurity, he will bring about division in his community. This is because he will see others as a threat to his office and position.

This is the theme of today’s liturgy, namely, that of insecurity in leadership. This theme has to be addressed in two dimensions, from the perspective of those of us who feel insecure in leadership and from the angle of those who have to suffer under inefficient or bad leadership.

Let us deal with the insecurity a leader has to handle in himself. The truth is that most of us are insecure as leaders, whether in Church or at work. We are competitive and always feel the need to prove that we are better than others. We are afraid that others will take over our positions. Even if it were not so, we feel jealous when others think better of our competitors than us.

Consequently, the root of insecurity lies in the fact that we do not recognize that we are called or chosen. We feel that we need to earn our position. Hence, such a leader would seek to prove himself so that he can be found worthy by others. This was the case of Saul who wanted to prove that he was better than David. He was filled with jealousy when David performed better in the battle with the enemies than himself. Instead of seeing his position as the grace of God, he saw it as his career and personal choice, rather than as a response to a vocation.

This was the same situation of Judas. It is said that Judas could have betrayed Jesus because he was impatient with Jesus. Judas wanted Jesus to take a more active approach in establishing the kingdom which, for him, was to drive out the Roman occupiers. And so by betraying Jesus, he thought that Jesus would be forced to act. Of course, we know that Jesus did not. As a result, Judas was filled with remorse. He could not forgive himself and ended committing suicide.

Secondly, Saul saw his leadership not so much as a service to the people but more for his ambition, glory and security. He was not a king for the people of Israel but for himself. When a leader begins to think of himself and his success rather than that of those whom he serves, he will start to seek his own interests.

Indeed, the scripture readings today remind us that we are chosen. Saul was chosen as the anointed of the Lord. So were the apostles who were summoned by Jesus and as the gospel underscored “those he wanted.” When the Lord appoints us for a task, He will give us the grace of the Office. God will never fail in supplying the grace needed to perform our work. We read in the gospel that Jesus “summoned those he wanted. So they came to him.” All we need to do is to respond to His call. We are chosen to be at His service. It is not for our career or our glory. We are chosen like the apostles to proclaim His message. Authority is given to us for the mission. It is not our right.

How then can we feel more secure in leadership? We only need to look at Jesus. He was certainly not an insecure leader. On the contrary, the reason why He appointed the Twelve was in order that they could share in His authority and power. Jesus certainly is a great leader because He came to share with us His life, glory and even His power. For Jesus, He was not interested in making a name for Himself. As a selfless leader, He only wanted to make His Father known. Hence, the more others join Him in this mission, the faster the objective of giving glory to the Father would be realized.

What is the secret of such self-confidence in leadership? Firstly, we must remember that such an approach to leadership requires us to be with Lord. We are called primarily to be with Him, to be His companions before we are sent out. Indeed, the Lord invited the apostles to go to the mountain so that they could be with Him alone and be formed by Him before they were sent out on the mission.

Unless we are with Him, we cannot love Him. How much we love Jesus will determine how much we will work for Him and not for ourselves. When we love Jesus, we will do everything for Him. Only when we love God, will we do everything for Him and for His glory. For ourselves, we seek only self-abasement. He must increase and we decrease. We phase out ourselves in leadership. We do not wish to attract people to us but only to Christ. Hence such leaders are not concerned about their success, for that is left to the Lord. Leaders are only required to respond as much as they can. We are called to be faithful to our responsibilities, for success is the prerogative of the Lord.

Now what about dealing with difficult and inefficient leaders who are in charge of us? Firstly, we must respect their office because as David himself said, “he is the Lord’s anointed.” David did not kill Saul even though he had the opportunity because Saul, in spite of his evil deeds, remained the Lord’s anointed one. So great was David’s respect for Saul that even when he had just cut off the border of Saul’s cloak to prove his sincerity, he felt it was not a right thing to do, much less to kill him. He even addressed Saul as “O my father, see, look at the border of your cloak in my hand.” For us too, we must respect those who are in office.

Of course rendering obedience and respect to inept leaders require faith in God who appointed the leaders. We must trust that God in His own time will remove those leaders who look after themselves instead of the flock under their care. God will triumph in the end. We only need to listen to what they say and not follow what they do.

In the same vein, we are invited to imitate the example of David. His magnanimity in forgiving Saul managed to calm his nerves. Saul was touched by his fidelity and love. If we persevere in loving our leaders, we will eventually win them over because they too have a human heart. Quite often such leaders are blinded by their insecurity. Indeed, David even excused Saul by saying that the mistrust of Saul was on account of the wrong information he had received from his men.

Let us go up to the mountain, the symbol of prayer. Unless we leaders pray, we should not be in leadership. Leaders, whether in Church, at the office, or even as parents, must pray so that they will not be a danger to themselves and those under their charge. If we feel that we are too busy to pray as leaders, then we should resign from our leadership and spend more time in prayer. After we have prayed sufficiently, the Lord will invite us to take up appointments of leadership. For unless we have been with Him, we will never have the subjective and objective authority to act as Jesus our master acted.