I've decided that Moses is a lot like a kid on his first bicycle.
I wrote that months ago as an aside to another thought. For the life of me, I can't figure out where I was going with that.
I wrote that months ago as an aside to another thought. For the life of me, I can't figure out where I was going with that.
I don't get Moses. The first time we hear about him, he's being saved from death miraculously. The next time we hear about him, he's murdering a member of his adopted race. Then he's flirting with a girl at a well. Then he's talking to God. Then he's hiding behind his brother. Then he's leading people out of Egypt. Moses spent 40 years talking to God intimately; his face literally shined so brightly he had to wear a veil. And yet he then does something so small and petty that he is kept from entering the Promised Land.
What gives, Mo?
On the surface, Moses does not seem like a great leader. And then you dig down, and he's still not a great leader. And yet he was God's choice to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
In movies, books, plays, songs, there's a profound moment in the hero's journey. A time when the protagonist realizes he's made a mistake/chosen the wrong path/needs to fight against injustice, etc. From that moment, they are steadfast in pursuing their path.
Of course, in life, there are many such moments. Thousands. It's never just one moment in time when we realize the error of our ways. We have to constantly be questioning our motives and actions.
So I guess I do get Moses. My reticence to embrace him as a leader is probably because I'm just as human as he is. I fail just as often as I succeed. I'm working toward the day when I fail far less often than I succeed. The trick, which Moses missed, is getting to that point before I do something that keeps me out of the Promised Land.
Maybe that was his moment after all.
I still don't know what it has to do with a kid on a bike.
What gives, Mo?
On the surface, Moses does not seem like a great leader. And then you dig down, and he's still not a great leader. And yet he was God's choice to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
In movies, books, plays, songs, there's a profound moment in the hero's journey. A time when the protagonist realizes he's made a mistake/chosen the wrong path/needs to fight against injustice, etc. From that moment, they are steadfast in pursuing their path.
Of course, in life, there are many such moments. Thousands. It's never just one moment in time when we realize the error of our ways. We have to constantly be questioning our motives and actions.
So I guess I do get Moses. My reticence to embrace him as a leader is probably because I'm just as human as he is. I fail just as often as I succeed. I'm working toward the day when I fail far less often than I succeed. The trick, which Moses missed, is getting to that point before I do something that keeps me out of the Promised Land.
Maybe that was his moment after all.
I still don't know what it has to do with a kid on a bike.
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