Armchair Quarterbacks

Learning to lead with love more than laws

7/31/2017

Exodus 32:15-24, 30-34 Moses turned and came down the mountain with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands, tablets that were written on both sides, front and back; tablets that were made by God, having inscriptions on them that were engraved by God himself. As he drew near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. With that, Moses' wrath flared up, so that he threw the tablets down and broke them on the base of the mountain. Taking the calf they had made, he fused it in the fire and then ground it down to powder, which he scattered on the water and made the children of Israel drink. On the next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a grave sin. I will go up to the LORD, then; perhaps I may be able to make atonement for your sin." So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Ah, this people has indeed committed a grave sin in making a god of gold for themselves! If you would only forgive their sin! If you will not, then strike me out of the book that you have written."

          Have you heard the term “armchair quarterback”? It is a derogatory term used to describe someone who commands others from the comfort of his couch but he’s unwilling to make personal sacrifices. Such a leader fails to grasp that leadership has more to do with example than with exhortation, with love than with laws. Something inside us instinctively cringes when someone tries to lead us without love.

           On the other hand, a good leader is ready to “take one for the team,” that is, he or she will make personal sacrifices. Sometimes in basketball games a coach will become deliberately disruptive and the referee will call a technical foul on him and eject him from the game. I always smile when that happens. Why? Well, because the coach will sometimes do that on purpose to inspire his team to try harder: the coach’s suffering galvanizes his players to give their best. John Maxwell, one of the leading experts on leadership, defines leadership with one word, “influence.” He writes: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” He continues: “Leadership begins with the heart, not the head. It flourishes with a meaningful relationship, not more regulation” (Developing the Leader Within You, 7). In other words, leadership has more to do with love than laws.

           In the first reading today, Moses proves he’s no “armchair quarterback” and that he’s willing to “take one for the team.” Moses descends from Mt. Sinai carrying the two tablets of the law, the Ten Commandments. But the people have turned away from God to sin and idolatry. So, what does Moses do? First he corrects the people, but then he goes back up the mountain to talk to God, and beg for his mercy. But Moses does even more than that: he’s willing to sacrifice himself for the people – a foreshadowing of what Jesus would do. Moses says to God, “Strike me out of the book that you have written.” Moses, like smart and sacrificial basketball coaches, was ready to be “ejected from the game,” so that he could inspire the Israelites to give it their best. Moses understood that giving the law is not enough to be a great leader; he must also have great love, shown in sacrifice. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

   

           My friends, sooner or later we all exercise some sort of leadership. Parents must lead their families; priests must lead their parishes; presidents must lead their nations. Maybe you coach a little league team or you direct the church choir. You could be a volunteer boy scout or girl scout leader, or the CEO of a global corporation. Nearly everyone is a leader. And if you absolutely insist on avoiding leadership, then you’ll definitely have to follow one. Sometimes priests say sarcastically: “The only thing worse than being an associate priest is having one.” I’ve always been blessed with exceptional associate priests.

           So, if you’re going to be an effective leader, get off your armchair and lead with love, make some personal sacrifices. Get thrown out of a basketball game by deliberately earning a technical foul; take one for the team. I recently asked the church staff to take a small pay-cut so we could balance the budget, but I told them my salary would be cut, too. I am convinced that church finances take care of themselves if the pastor leaders with love, that is, some personal sacrifice. Don’t yell at your kids to do their chores, do the chores with them. Show them, don’t shove them. Like Moses, be willing to be “ejected from the game,” because that’s when you’ll truly be in the game.

Praised be Jesus Christ!