Leaders should be careful of what they ask for

 For years President Biden sought to be the President of the United States. In the last election he got his wish. I wonder if he perhaps wishes he had lost the election. He has proven to be the most ineffective president in our nation's recent history and will perhaps go down as the worst president ever in the United States if things do not change. Inflation is at highs that have not been seen in decades. Store shelves are empty. Gas prices have skyrocketed. In our community the price of gas has risen by a dollar since he was elected. Businesses have closed or seriously reduced their hours due to a lack of employees. People making larger purchases are finding out their items are backordered and may not be available for 6-12 months. He continually loses court cases that he needs to win to push through his agenda, and even with his party holding the majority in Congress many of the things he supports cannot get passed. He is losing the support of the media and many in his own party. His latest approval ratings are tanking. One shows only 33% gives him a positive rating while 53% give him a negative one.

It can be argued that some of the issues mentioned above are beyond his control, but he and his administration sets policies that lead to some of these issues.  All of the spin in the world cannot change that fact. The fact is that Joe Biden spent a lifetime seeking election as President only to show the world just how incompetent he is in that role. Believe me when I say I do not rejoice that this is the case. I was hoping for much more from him.

However, I have seen the same thing happen with some in ministry positions. We've all seen pastors who sought to climb the ministerial ladder to larger churches only to fail miserably when they obtained those positions. They simply did not have the skills needed to serve in these larger churches. They brought harm to the church and to their own personal ministries as a result.

In 1969 a book was published titled The Peter Principle that addressed this problem. The authors wrote that people sometimes rise to "a level of respective incompetence" based on their success in previous jobs until they finally reach a level where they are no longer effective. We tend to think that skills in one position will automatically transfer to another one which is not always the case.

It is important for leaders, whether political, ministerial, business, to be self-aware enough to know their capabilities. For instance, I know I could serve as pastor in a small or medium-size church, but I would not have the skills or knowledge to serve as the pastor of a much larger or megachurch. My gifts are better suited for those smaller churches. Like Clint Eastwood said in Magnum Force, "A man's gotta know his limitations."

Be careful what you wish for. Don't wish for more than you can handle. It's a good thing to be stretched, but you don't want to be stretched so tight that you snap. That hurts you and those you are attempting to serve. Know yourself and your capabilities. Always work to increase those capabilities, but stay within them. Each one of us will be much more effective when we work in the areas of our giftedness and abilities.