In-laws have gotten a bad reputation. I’m blessed with good ones. I remember asking Barrie for permission to marry Jan. He said yes. I thought he didn’t understand, because he said yes so quickly, so I asked again. Thankfully he didn’t change his mind. Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, gave him some good advice one day after seeing him at work among the Hebrew people.

Ex 18:17-21 Moses' father-in-law [Jethro] replied, "What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. But select capable men from all the people--men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain--and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people (NIV)

As leader of the Hebrews, Moses discovered that people come with all sorts of problems, and he was quickly up to his neck in the quicksand of their interpersonal issues. On the one hand, it was affirming. They trusted him and lined up before him like an ancient Dr. Phil so that he could settle their disputes. On the other hand, it was killing him. He didn’t have time for anything else. Thankfully Jethro saw what was going on and suggested a workable solution.

Despite the passage of time, we see some clues in Jethro's solution to help reduce the time load in our own hurried and hectic lives.

– Do what God has called You to do. God had called Moses to lead the people, but he couldn’t lead them if he was overwhelmed. Likewise, we can’t do everything, so we need to concentrate on those things we need to do well. That might mean giving up something or making some changes.

– Let others do what God calls them to do. God had gifted other people as judges, but they weren’t doing it because Moses was doing it. We often get caught in the trap of, "No one else will do it if I don’t." While this is sometimes true, it is not always true. In my first church, I became overwhelmed. My senior pastor told me something I have not forgotten: "If you do what God has called someone else to do, you deny them the chance to use their gifts."

– Teach them and show them. Sometimes there is no one else to do it because we have not taken the time to teach anyone. My mother was great at this. She had me and my brother start supper each day after school. She taught us how to iron, wash clothes, and even to wax the tile floors. I know there were times we whined about it, and the results were less than what she could produce. But she was patient and it paid off in the long run.

– Stop tying up traffic. People waited a long time to have their cases heard by Moses. Being the only judge was probably great for Moses' ego, but it slowed everyone down. If it all depends on me, then those who look to me can only go at my pace. Where we live in rural Nova Scotia, there are only two lane highways with few passing lanes. Traffic often backs up because someone drives less than the speed limit. When I choose to keep the burden to myself, its like driving 85 in a 100 kph zone. I force the people coming behind me to go only as fast as I go.

The account in Exodus changes topics rather abruptly, so we need to look to Deuteronomy 1 for the rest of the story. Moses took the suggestion to the Lord, who answered, "What you propose to do is good." (Dt. 1:14) It was only after giving up some of his responsibility that they were able to move toward the promised land.

Our own "promised land" is bound to be different from Moses, and our responsibilities lighter. But that shouldn’t stop us from seeing some of the possibilities for our own situation.

Hope this helps you today. Be ON FIRE

Troy

ON FIRE is a weekly letter of encouragement by Troy Dennis.