Here's an odd question for the Monday evening before Christmas. Servant Leader, are you more like Balaam or his donkey?
For those not familiar with the story, Numbers tells of Balaam, an Old Testament prophet who was tasked with cursing Israel by a prince of Moab. As he was going to meet with Balak, the prince, the angel of the Lord prevented his passage three times. Balaam was blind to the angel, but the donkey obeyed, turning away from the path three times. This angered Balaam, who beat his donkey three times before the Lord allowed the donkey to speak, challenging Balaam's beating by saying...
“What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”
The donkey's challenge to Balaam is our challenge, Servant Leader. We've all been there. We've all been the donkey. We've seen the signs that our current mission, vision, and path are unproductive or need adjusted. How many of us have pursued a customer, a market, or a product that just isn't paying dividends, and tried but failed to influence a reassessment or change of direction?
Some of us have even been Balaam, blinded to the reality that our donkeys are trying to show us. How many times have we beaten our donkey and blamed our circumstances on the donkey's straying from the path? When the donkey crushed Balaam's leg against the wall, Balaam didn't blame the angel - or himself - he blamed the donkey.
In business, as in faith, we are often confronted with signs that we need to change our own course, or that we need to try harder to influence change in the company. Our decisions when challenged aren't consequence free, as the angel finally instructs Balaam...
The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it. (Num 22:33, NKJV)
So, Servant Leader, don't keep beating your donkey. Listen to what the signs are telling you and change course before the donkey trades your beating for the angel's sword.
But we're not done with Balaam yet. Once Balaam was back in line with God's plan, the Lord used him to teach Balak, the Moabite prince, a lesson. He told Balak three times that he could do nothing to the Israelites that God did not allow - and God would not allow him to curse Israel. So, instead of cursing Israel each of the three times Balak insisted, Balaam blessed them three times, telling Balak the prince...
“Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, ‘Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord—and I must say only what the Lord says’? (Num 24:12-13, NKJV)
By chapter 24, Balaam has gone from ignoring God's signs that he needed to change, to standing his ground after the prince repeatedly demanded that he curse Israel.
So, Servant Leader, the challenge for you and me is to be more like Balaam's donkey - to see the signs and do everything in our power to drive change so that we can follow the business path that God has placed before us. If we keep ignoring the signs, if we fail to listen to the customer, if we don't make timely adjustments to our market offerings, if we follow blindly without asking "why is my faithful donkey now turning from the path", then we risk our business facing the wrath of the angel. And that doesn't end well for Balak. (Num 24:23-24)
