My second-grade teacher, Mrs. Jones, was not young. A dear lady who was sweet and gentle but not young. One day she invited the class to try and move a heavy desk. One by one, we tried to lift the end of the desk. (I think she weighted it down to make a point.). With many sounds and no avail, all 25 or so students grunted, strained, and eventually failed to lift the desk.
"I'll do it with just one hand," she declared. In unison, the whole class said, "NO!" Without missing a beat, that crafty Mrs. Jones, who was not young, grabbed a metal crow-bar and a brick. After careful and strategic placement, the not-young Mrs. Jones used the crow-bar and brick to create leverage and, with one hand and minimal effort, lifted the desk with her not-young arm.
The whole class oohed, awed, and marveled at her power. Later that night, I used the crow-bar from my dad's toolbox and a brick from the backyard to discover leverage - the power beyond my strength. I lifted the bed, a bookshelf filled with books, the TV consul, the refrigerator, and the couch. I lifted everything except for our car in the front driveway.
Leverage is a power beyond our strength, and it is also an indispensable tool for leaders. For the next few weeks, here at "Say Yes and Become," we will turn our attention to Five Areas Leaders Must Learn to apply the Laws of Leverage.
“I would do __________ if I had _________.” These words have been uttered by more than one stalled leader. BIG VISION - small resource.
I had this very same conversation with about 40 pastors in North India, most of whom had very little.
"We don't have enough_______________," and they filled the blank with people, money, resources, space, freedom, and more. Asking them to take a piece of paper and make five columns on it, I shared the above story about my not-young second-grade teacher and how she wowed a class of seven-year-olds by showing us a power beyond her strength.
I shared how the Laws of Leverage lead us to power beyond our strength, and over the next few hours, we filled each column. Upon finishing, every pastor said, "We have so much more than we knew." What are the five columns? Glad you asked; beginning next week, we will post something about each column.
Five Areas Leaders Must Learn to apply the Laws of Leverage:
Leaders must learn to apply the laws of leverage to what we possess.
Leaders must learn to apply the laws of leverage to what we know.
Leaders must learn to apply the laws of leverage to who we know.
Leaders must learn to apply the laws of leverage to our obstacles and opportunities.
Leaders must learn to apply the laws of leverage to our culture.
Let me close with an incredible story from the Bible (2 Kings 4:1-7).
A widow was about to lose her sons to debtors’ slavery. Debtors’ slavery is when money is owed that cannot be paid, and a person or their family becomes a slave to the one who is owed. Approaching the Prophet Elisha, she makes her case for assistance. In short, she said, "I am a widow, I have nothing, calamity is coming unless you help me." Here is the conversation:
Elisha: "What is in your house?"
Widow: "Nothing but a small jar of oil."
Elisha: "Go ask your neighbors for every empty oil jar they have; gather a lot."
Widow: "Okay?"
After collecting them, God miraculously multiplied the oil from her jar and filled every empty oil container she had collected. The widow discovered power beyond her strength through leverage.
She leveraged what she possessed. Remember her words, "I have nothing," and Elisha points her back to the reality that she has something. "I have oil; I have a house, I have sons, I have neighbors."
She leveraged WHAT she knew. She knew her culture. She knew how to talk, walk and knock on doors.
She leveraged WHO she knew. She knew her neighbors; she knew Elisha, she knew her kids, and she knew the debt collectors.
She leveraged her obstacles/opportunities. Obstacles often drive us to think better and more strategic thoughts.
She leveraged her culture. In her culture, hospitality and caring for your neighbor's needs were ingrained in the culture, so when she asked for empty containers, her culture would not say no.
For the next few weeks, I am inviting you to discover the power beyond your strength through applying the Laws of Leverage! See you next week.