Sorting out your roles You . . . only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. —Exodus 18:18
M
oses was a caring leader who, apart from leading the Israelites in spiritual matters, also tried to sort out their daily disputes. From morning till evening, he would attend to disputes and issues requiring the application of God’s laws and instructions (Exodus 18:13). This obviously took up a lot of his time and tired him out, but Moses probably believed no one else could do the job.
judging small cases to officials he could trust, and take on only the most difficult ones. What wise advice!
His father-in-law, Jethro, pointed out how unsustainable this approach was. “You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out,” he told his son-in-law frankly. “The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone” (Exodus 18:18).
Start by listing the roles you currently play. Don’t think in terms of tasks that you carry out; rather, think in terms of relationships that you have in your life. For example, you would be a son or daughter to God, a child to a living parent, and maybe a spouse, a parent to your child, a sibling, or a cousin. You
Jethro wisely suggested that Moses delegate the work of 46
One of the ways to deal with expectations that produce false guilt is to identify and determine the key roles that you play in your life. This will help you distinguish between the roles that God has given you and those that come from elsewhere; between those that only you can do and those that you can delegate to others.
