Why Choose to Do All Yourself?

I am one of those people that used to think, “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself”. Whereas this is certainly a noble concept, it is not very sustainable and really what am I teaching others.

“¹⁷Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.’” – Exodus 18:17-18 (ESV)

Moses had been sitting from morning til night each day working as mediator and judge over the people, in addition to providing the word of God. Again, this is very noble and he should be commended for his dedication to the people. But, wouldn’t his time be put to better use by working to provide the word of God as opposed to sitting and working through the minor squabbles of the people of Israel. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing and offered that advice to him.

“²⁴So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. ²⁵Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²⁶And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.” – Exodus 18:24-26 (ESV)

This is a great example of delegation and empowerment. Moses took the advice of his father-in-law and separated out the smaller thing and delegated them to those that were closer to the situation. This freed him up to handle the more significant matters and more importantly, the ability to provide the word of God to the people more consistently.

I have learned that I cannot do it all myself, and I have to okay with allowing others to take on some things, even if they are not done the way I would have done them. My way is not always the best way. I should be there to provide guidance, however I should allow others to do the work (the small matters) and them provide feedback and coaching when necessary (the more significant matters).

Have you been doing “all” the work because others “don’t do it right”? What would happen if you allowed them to take on some of the smaller things? Will you choose some to do the work and free you up for the larger, more significant items?