Have you ever studied English literature in school? Do you remember the stories of William Shakespeare like Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Hamlet? A common factor of the protagonists of these tragedies is that they always have a serious character flaw.
Romeo was a flirt. His impulsive, capricious and often unpremeditated behavior led to the disappearance of himself and his beloved Juliet.
Macbeth was ambitious and yet enthusiastic. While he yearned for the king’s crown, he was too passive and was often influenced by his wife.
Hamlet was a procrastinated prince. His high intellect forced him to be overly cautious and procrastinate most of the time. The famous line “So conscience makes us all cowards. “It shows us Hamlet’s line of thought. He was a person who often stopped to think before acting. The more he thinks, the less he does.
These character flaws teach us very important lessons. They add depth and humanity to the story and portray the character’s imperfection and limitations.
Our imperfect biblical heroes
The same is true of our biblical heroes. Let’s do a little test right now. Do you know who these biblical leaders are?
A man who lied to save his own skin and his wife
A man who murdered and concealed the act.
A cheater who fights everyone
A boastful and arrogant young man
A man who committed adultery and indirectly killed another man
A man constantly full of doubts and fear.
The common flaw common to each of these heroes is “Fear.” However, before judging them, you should ask yourself a few questions. For fear of being “out of place” with friends, would you put aside our values? For fear of losing to others in the workplace, would you compromise your integrity? Out of fear of losing control over your children’s behavior, would you lose your temper and yell at them?
Why do we have character defects?
Therefore, our character flaws are the proper setting in which you see the manifestation of God’s love and the amazing mercy that takes place within us. Psalm 145: 8 says: “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.“
God uses people who fall, make mistakes, and stumble like you and me. Their initial behavior did not stop God from using them to save nations, perform miracles, or win souls for Him. Each of the previous heroes became great leaders because they gave their best and God did the rest.
So there will be times when we find ourselves living crazy, sad and miserable lives. There will be times when we expect more from the people around us than God expects from them. There will be times when we expect too much of ourselves. We get frustrated and angry because we are trying to be perfect.
However, if we are perfect, we would think that everything we did is due to our own strengths. This is the same reason that God instructed Gideon to select only three hundred soldiers to defeat the Midianites.
In Judges 7: 2, “The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into your hands, or Israel would boast against me:” My own strength has saved me. “
The compassion and mercy of our Lord
There are many leaders with different styles of leadership who serve God. And the only common factor that unites these leaders is true compassion and mercy. In John 11:35, John wrote one of the most succinct verses in the Bible “Jesus wept.“This verse appears in John’s account of the death of Lazarus.
You may be thinking, “But doesn’t Jesus know that he can raise the dead? So why was he still crying?”
Because Lazarus really died! Jesus felt the pain and sadness of those he loved. Death, at this point, still had its deadly sting and dominated men. Jesus wept when he thought of this unbearable thought.
The true nature of Jesus is not to be tall and all powerful. He is willing to do whatever it takes to feel our heart beat. He approaches the sick and also the healthy.
We can do more as leaders in this imperfect world by aligning our hearts and minds with Jesus. So don’t worry about foolishly trying to be a perfect leader. Acknowledge your character flaws. Consolidate your strengths. Dedicate yourself to God. Then let him bring out the best in you as an authentic Christian leader.
