where the credit belongs

And David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel.

1 Chronicles 14:2

David would keep humble worship at the focus of his extraordinary success. He didn’t take credit for his kingdom’s rise on the world scene. It was all God’s doing and he knew it. The Lord had established David’s kingdom. The Lord had given him the new city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Lord spread the reputation of king David’s kingdom around the nations. God was faithful to His covenant with Israel by blessing the leadership of David.

And one of the most encouraging parts of this account is that David himself knew it was all God’s doing. His heart was as thrilled at God’s blessing as the heart of any other astonished citizen who saw the kingdom turn around. He was entirely content to give God the credit. And that is the mark of an excellent leader. Excellent leaders aren’t self-absorbed. Excellent leaders don’t take credit. Excellent leaders don’t need to loudly publish their own press releases. Scripturally excellent leaders point to the Giver of all good gifts as the source of all success.

I will only take responsibility for my mistakes, lessons learned, and lessons yet to be learned. I have the privilege every day of investing time, conversation, and my gifts with numerous people. I have the blessing of often communicating to larger groups of people, sometimes hundreds of people at once. And all of it is given by God. May I focus the God-given gifts of my time, abilities, and resources to pointing others to Jesus... to the God Who saved me, loves them, and transforms lives. God does all the work. I confess and forsake the sin of wanting recognition for myself. And I ask for God to give me more opportunities to put the focus on Him. God deserves the credit! That is how leaders can worship well.