Why The Inner Circle Fights

There have been many times that leaders have faced criticism from those that are closest to them. Just when things seem to be going right a left hook, out of nowhere puts things out of whack. There are many times that the leader looks to stop and give up. Others put on determination and grit and keep going. Then there are still others that do not give up and do not move forward but freeze asking the question why them. For many of us the latter is the action that we take.

The problem now that is occurring is not the murmuring of the inner circle, but that the people that we are leading are not moving forward. When a leader is stuck this is cripples to the people and the movement. When it happens to a visionary leader it is fatal.

It is fatal to the people and the movement because the visionary leader is no longer looking to the Lord for the vision. Instead he is looking to the Lord for an answer to the problem. That is why the writer of Proverbs wrote:

Where there is no vision, the people perishf:

No one knows where to go without a vision. There is no direction for one’s life without a vision. There is no hope in dark times without a vision. Life looses meaning without a vision. Therefore vision is essential in order for a people and a movement to grow, thrive and advance.

In today’s Word this is what happened to Moses. It is not like that this has not happened before. In the Book of Exodus there recorded many times where the Children of Israel complained about what was going on. They complained about slavery and then complained about the deliverer that God sent. On the journey out of Egypt, they complained about the harshness of not having a homeland, the type of food that they ate, and the thirst that they had.

The complaints of the people came from not fully understanding the purpose that God for them. The results of these complaints were that God on many occasions wanted to consume them in the wilderness. However it was the Moses standing in the gap for Children of Israel that stayed the hand of God. Moses did this because he knew what God wanted for them. That is why that every time the complaints happened Moses was able to deal with them and keep moving. What makes this time different is that complaints are coming from members of his family.

We can deal with most complaints when they come from outsiders. This is because we expect complaints to come from those that do not know us. However complaints that come from family are not so easily understood. Our kinfolk are the ones that know us the best. They have been with us to celebrate our shining achievements, and have supported us during the darkest of low points. Through it all we look to our families to be right by our side. Therefore we expect the members of our family to catch the vision that God gave, and depend on them to be our inner circle. When they don’t or they complain, it freezes us and makes us question “Why?”.

Miriam and Aaron not only spoke against Moses but also questioned the Lord.

And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us?

The question is more about the choice that the Lord made in revealing the His vision to Moses. There are some family members that question why the Lord gave you the vision instead of them. The questions that run in their mind are: “Why would the Lord give him a vision and not us? Aren’t we from the same family? Didn’t we have the same upbringing? I remember what he was before this ‘vision’ thing. Always in trouble, and did not have it together. Since that is the case I can do the same thing that he is doing.” What Miriam and Aaron asked spoke to a problem that they had in themselves.

The problem that Miriam and Aaron had was of insecurity. The problem of insecurity has caused problems in the lives of people. Both Miriam and Aaron had the problem of insecurity because of their history. Being born and raised as slaves there is the insecurity in their place in society. When one is born a slave you are lowest in the land. The only value that one has to the people at large is what you can do physically. Intellect and knowledge of a slave means nothing to his master. Healthy, enduring relationships are obstacles to a slave’s production that must be removed. The very life of a slave was of no real value. If a slave became ill, handicapped, or even died, he was replaceable. In the master’s mind a slave could be replaced as easy as a part on a car.