Friday, February 10, 2012

Yitro: Delegating to foster peace

Yitro: Exodus 18:13-14, 18, 23 – “And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood about Moses from the morning unto the evening.  And when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said: ‘What is this thing that you do to the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand about you from morning to night? .  .  .  . You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you, for the thing is too heavy for you; you are not able to perform it yourself alone.  .  .  .  If you will do this thing, and God command you so, then you shall be able to endure, and all this people also shall go to their place in peace.’    

Yitro wisely advised Moses to delegate his authority over the people to “rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.”  How often do we with best of intentions take on more obligations than we can wisely fulfill in relation to ourselves and others?
May we be blessed to heed the advice of Yitro, sharing our responsibilities, so that we endure and those we encounter go in peace.

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