[Moses] said, "Oh, Master, please! Send somebody else!" Exodus 4:13 (TM)

Recently we’ve been watching the HBO mini-series John Adams. It’s a fascinating portrayal of the founding father and the circumstances of his life and our nation’s beginnings. One of the themes present in the telling is the fact that these founding fathers were fallible men, and in many cases the cause of American independance was won at great personal cost. They weren’t always excited about the positions in which they found themselves.

So it is with great leaders through history, when you take the time to learn their stories. We tend to place these icons on pedestals and idolize them. In the process of turning people into legends, we lose sight of the fact that they were ordinary human beings given to the same insecurities, weaknesses, and temptations as you and me. I would venture to bet that most, if not all, did not relish the circumstances that eventually put them in the history books.

Contemplating this truth today does not cause me to be critical of those people, but to wonder what I, like Moses, might accomplish if I was willing to trust God’s strength instead of focusing on my own weaknesses.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and savethedave