“Now let the fear of the LORD be upon you, Judge carefully, for with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”
~ 2 Chronicles 19:7
Hi James and Ellen,
What do you hope to be doing when you get as old as your dad and ma? Are you hoping to be able to ask for advice from your dad and/or ma or from a friend or from a teacher as to what vocational paths would best use your gifting? Are you hoping that you will be able to meet the expectations of what your dad and/or ma or a friend or a teacher has for you for your life vocations? Are you hoping that your dad and ma and your friends and your teachers will affirm you for the vocations that you choose? Are you hoping that you will be asked by your friends for your thoughts about what their future vocations might be? Would you rather be asked to do things by your dad and/or ma or by a friend or by a teacher or would you rather ask your dad and/or ma or a friend or a teacher to do things for you? Are you good listeners? Listening is good. Trusting in what your dad and/or ma or a friend or a teacher says is good. Your grandpaa when he was a kid really liked playing ball. Your grandpaa was always ready to play ball with his bros and neighborhood kids. Between your grandpaa’s seventh and eighth grades at the Volga Christian School, your grandpaa’s dad helped to start up a softball league in the town two miles south and one mile east of the farm where your grandpaa grew up. Your grandpaa’s dad played first base on the Volga Christian Reformed Church’s married guy’s fast pitch softball team. Your grandpaa played shortstop on the Volga Christian Reformed Church’s high school age fast pitch softball team. All the other guys on your grandpaa’s fast pitch softball team the first summer that your grandpaa played softball were in high school while your grandpaa was going into eighth grade. The guy who plays shortstop is sometimes called the field general. Even though your grandpaa was the youngest guy on his softball team, your grandpaa knew that he was one of the best ballplayers on the team. Your grandpaa always felt really confident about his playing abilities when he was on a softball field. Your grandpaa was the guy who made up the team’s lineup for each game. Your grandpaa always wrote himself in batting second in the batting order. Each time that your grandpaa played softball with the high school age fast pitch softball team from the church where your grandpaa’s dad and ma were members, your grandpaa wore a pink imitation leather jacket. When your grandpaa was playing softball on the high school age fast pitch softball team, your grandpaa constantly chattered. When your grandpaa was not playing softball, your grandpaa was always very quiet and your grandpaa liked to do things alone. Your grandpaa still rarely says anything when is with more than one other guy.
If you were asked to lead or to be the boss of guys and/or gals someday, how would you lead or be the boss of these guys and/or gals? There are all kinds of ways to lead or to be a boss. How you will lead or act as a boss will depend on the kind of character and personality that God has hardwired you. What kind of leader or boss would you like to have when you get big and are employed? How do you want your dad and/or ma treat you as kids? Do you want to have your dad and/or ma tell you what to do or do you want to have your dad and/or ma let you do your own thing? When you get big, do you want to be able to tell guys and/or gals what to do or will you let guys and/or gals do their own thing? Your grandpaa is the field leader here in Guatemala over a group of field and host country missionaries. The guy who was the field leader – before your grandpaa became the field leader, is a lot heavier than your grandpaa. When Russ led a meeting, Russ would get as close to the table as possible while every guy and gal in the meeting would push away from the table. Russ wanted to be seen as being in control of a meeting. Russ wanted to be the guy who always had the final answer for whatever. Your grandpaa does not want to say that how Russ led a meeting was wrong; your grandpaa sometimes felt that Russ – because of the way that he led meetings as a boss, did not let the guys and gals in the meeting feel like their word was important. When your grandpaa leads a meeting as the field leader, your grandpaa lets the guys and gals who coordinate the different ministries tell the other guys and gals in the meeting what is taking place in their ministry commitments. Your grandpaa knows that he has to trust in all the field and host country missionary guys and gals who he is responsible for as their leader – just like when your grandpaa played softball where your grandpaa had to trust in his teammates to play their positions well.
Jehoshaphat was a Judah king for twenty-four years. Jehoshaphat had a guy help him to be a good king. The guy’s name was Jehu. Jehu was a seer. Jehu was a good seer. Jehu had a personal relationship with God. Jehu was there when Jehoshaphat made an error. Jehoshaphat helped and cared for some really wicked guys. You will always make errors. Ballplayers will always make errors but . . . Jehu saw in Jehoshaphat a good guy. Jehoshaphat’s name means the Lord judges. Jehoshaphat listened to Jehu’s words about the error that he made. Jehoshaphat wanted to do the right thing. Jehoshaphat personally went around Judah’s entire land area to make sure that the guys and gals who were living in Judah turned to worshipping God again. Jehoshaphat knew that he could not continue to be the only guy making sure that the guys and gals who were living in Judah heeded God’s worship expectations so Jehoshaphat appointed judges. The chronicler in 2 Chronicles writes about Jehoshaphat’s life. Jehoshaphat’s leadership style comes out in verse 7 “Now let the fear of the LORD be upon you, Judge carefully, for with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”’ God wants your lives to be examples to other guys and gals when you get big. Errors that you will make God will use as teaching tools to help you to model His grace to other guys and gals.
2 Chronicles 19 (132)