Anxiety, Leadership and Picking up Snakes
A few weeks ago, I was discussing the problems associated with stress, burn-out and how to find that elusive work-life balance.When confronted with this kind of challenge, many people look for solutions online, self-help articles, and books. I refer to the Book of Exodus, because there does not seem to be a more stressful occupation than taking thousands of already malnourished former slaves through the desert with the Egyptian army in pursuit.
Some of us may have a walking stick, so know that whenever sticks fall over, it can be quite annoying. For some people, bending over to pick up their stick is neither comfortable nor easy. Moses also had a walking aid. Through Divine intervention, it could part the Red Sea and crack open rocks to find water. However, as an additional source of stress, the stick Moses used could also transform into a large, hungry, and very impressive snake if dropped on the ground. Picking up that particular stick must have been a very high-stress undertaking!
Moses had a considerable number of very good reasons why he had never imagined himself as a leader. That uncomfortable knowledge of not quite fitting into the culture of Pharaoh’s court did however, provide him with a choice. He could run away, hope to disappear, or take the knowledge of being different as an opportunity to lead.
When Moses was three months old, his mother realised she could hide him no longer from Pharoah’s order that every Hebrew boy should be killed at birth. Instead of giving up in the face of overwhelming odds, she had placed him in a papyrus basket on the River Nile and then probably suffered a huge sense of loss as she watched her baby son float away. However, instead of drowning, Moses was rescued through the compassion and curiosity of Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses’s ingenious older sister then arranged for him to be looked after by his own mother. Through this quite remarkable set of circumstances, Moses survived, and was later returned to the Egyptian court for a life of privilege. Why should be give up all these opportunities to identify with the oppressed? Caring about others and taking that risk, transformed him into a leader.
Our knowledge of the life Moses chose to leave behind provides a perspective on Ancient Egypt. We may marvel at the pyramids, mysterious hieroglyphics and negotiate through crowds in the British Museum to see the mummies. The evidence of today shows how even Pharaohs could not live forever. All that time, effort and investment surrounding the ancient Egyptian rituals illustrate a society that seemed terrified of dying.
As a leader, Moses provided hope and guidance for his people. This mission began with humility, so Moses was receptive to the message conveyed by a bush bursting into flames in the desert. A sense of wonder also enabled him to interpret a flaming pillar of fire and smoke as guidance, to show very vulnerable former slaves a way through the desert. Even now, as we look for so much more than the powers and priorities of Ancient Egypt, our spiritual journeys may begin with a sense of wonder. The right to lead others is often justified through the realisation of being led.
Although Moses had been promised a Promised Land flowing with milk and honey, the journey rather than the destination had come to matter more. His years of wandering through the desert transformed a disparate group of former slaves with an unfortunate tendency to make and worship idols into a society united by a shared accountability to a single, all-powerful God. Our spiritual journeys may also involve steadily moving away from the pyramids of egotistical values and showing leadership where it matters most. These days we might describe this process as the discovery and maintenance of core values!.
Sarah Griffin