How can a leader respond when others compete with him or her? - Competition - TouchPoints

Numbers 12:3-8Now Moses was more humble than any other person on earth. So immediately the Lord called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and said, “Go out to the Tabernacle, all three of you!” And the three of them went out. Then the Lord descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle. “Aaron and Miriam!” he called, and they stepped forward. And the Lord said to them, “Now listen to me! Even with prophets, I the Lord communicate by visions and dreams. But that is not how I communicate with my servant Moses. He is entrusted with my entire house. I speak to him face to face, directly and not in riddles! He sees the Lord as he is. Should you not be afraid to criticize him?”

Leaders are tempted to defend themselves when others compete with or attack them. Moses allowed God to vindicate his leadership. Rather than continually defending themselves, leaders trust God to validate their leadership.

Mark 9:38-40John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.” “Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.

Leaders must beware of the competition their followers feel on their behalf. The disciples did not want to permit others to minister who weren’t doing it exactly their way. But Jesus called them to celebrate instead of compete.

Philippians 1:15-18It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.

Paul refused to condemn those who were competing with him because he understood that while their motives were wrong, the Good News was still being preached—and that’s what ultimately mattered. Your goal is to work for God. Don’t let the actions or opinions of others throw you off course. God will work through you — in spite of them!