Vision and Complacency 2
WELCOME to Leading Right. We are still on complacency. When we settle in, we lose our zest to venture. We become comfortable. Like Peter – one of the disciples of Jesus – we lose the vision of the bigger picture and settle for three tabernacles on the mountain. I am sure you remember the mountain of transfiguration experience as recorded in Matthew 17. Jesus had taken three of his disciples to the mountain and had been transfigured before them. His face shown brightly like the Sun and his dress became as while as light. It was a great moment as the frightened disciples saw their Master talking with Moses and Elijah – two great leaders who had long died. Peter, without thinking said, “I have an idea. Let’s build three tabernacles here – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” In essence, he was saying, “This is a great moment, let us not lose this.
Wahoo! Peter must have meant well. What a way to live! He had just seen three great leaders compare notes. He had just seen such a great glory of God no man had ever seen. He was content with just being there, savoring the moment, and if possible, extend the great moment for life. You would do this same if you were in Peter’s shoes.
But then, Moses and Elijah belonged to a world far better than the one Peter was trying to preserve. And Jesus was yet to fulfill his ministry. It would be premature for him to savor a glory when a greater glory awaited him. For Jesus, the mountain was one of transfiguration, not of complacency. It was to provide a temporarily glory – a transfiguration – in preparation for a greater glory. The mountain experience was to sharpen his vision and propel him on to the bigger goal. To Jesus, the Mount of Transfiguration was part of a process, not the end. He was meant to descend the mountain and face the issues squarely, basking in the euphoria of the new envisioning that the mountain experience had provided.
If you had read that passage well, you would have noticed Jesus did not respond to Peter’s request. The glory simply departed and the two visitors were no more. That is what happens to any victory. The euphoria of any victory soon dies down and a complacent leader may be caught napping.
Success has a way of playing a trick on us. We struggle long and hard for something and then, we get it. At last! Bravo! We quickly settle down to enjoy the new port of success. Who will not? Who will resist the temptation to be grateful for a hard won success? Who will not celebrate a deserved victory? But this is not about celebration, which by the way is very healthy. It is a about settling in at the port of victory for so long that the victory becomes irrelevant.
What contribution have you made to your family and to the society? How long have you celebrated this great contribution? Are you still winning and dining when the circumstances have changed and the times call for a greater contribution? It is time to put the wine back in the cellar and the glasses in the cabinet and start to dream another dream. Whatever you have achieved is nothing compared with what remains in the inside of you.
Wahoo! Peter must have meant well. What a way to live! He had just seen three great leaders compare notes. He had just seen such a great glory of God no man had ever seen. He was content with just being there, savoring the moment, and if possible, extend the great moment for life. You would do this same if you were in Peter’s shoes.
But then, Moses and Elijah belonged to a world far better than the one Peter was trying to preserve. And Jesus was yet to fulfill his ministry. It would be premature for him to savor a glory when a greater glory awaited him. For Jesus, the mountain was one of transfiguration, not of complacency. It was to provide a temporarily glory – a transfiguration – in preparation for a greater glory. The mountain experience was to sharpen his vision and propel him on to the bigger goal. To Jesus, the Mount of Transfiguration was part of a process, not the end. He was meant to descend the mountain and face the issues squarely, basking in the euphoria of the new envisioning that the mountain experience had provided.
If you had read that passage well, you would have noticed Jesus did not respond to Peter’s request. The glory simply departed and the two visitors were no more. That is what happens to any victory. The euphoria of any victory soon dies down and a complacent leader may be caught napping.
Success has a way of playing a trick on us. We struggle long and hard for something and then, we get it. At last! Bravo! We quickly settle down to enjoy the new port of success. Who will not? Who will resist the temptation to be grateful for a hard won success? Who will not celebrate a deserved victory? But this is not about celebration, which by the way is very healthy. It is a about settling in at the port of victory for so long that the victory becomes irrelevant.
What contribution have you made to your family and to the society? How long have you celebrated this great contribution? Are you still winning and dining when the circumstances have changed and the times call for a greater contribution? It is time to put the wine back in the cellar and the glasses in the cabinet and start to dream another dream. Whatever you have achieved is nothing compared with what remains in the inside of you.
posted by Abiodun Fijabi at 7:22 PM
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