Delegating is difficult work. On the surface, it may seem the easiest of life’s tasks, getting someone else to do your dirty work. But the truth of the matter is that we are hard-wired to believe that a job can’t be done right unless done by ourselves. It’s the instinct that makes us scream at incompetent Jeopardy contestants and rip the screwdriver from the hands of a friend that just isn’t utilizing it properly. Far too often, the only time we allow another to take on our responsibility is when it becomes painfully obvious that we can’t do it alone.
At a Bible Study group that I attended last week, we discussed the story of Stephen. If you’re unfamiliar, Stephen’s life was an incredible journey filled with persecution, strife, and, ultimately, assassination. But my focus in this post is not on the end of Stephen’s journey but its beginning. We’d never know the works of Stephen had it not been for Peter and the remaining disciples. During the time of Christianity’s foundation, a disagreement emerged between members of the group. As they were in positions of leadership, the expectation was that the twelve disciples would settle the matter themselves, as they had the right and capability to do. However, they delegated this responsibility to seven others, a group which included a young man named Stephen.
The symmetry is abundantly evident. Jesus, the one man who never needed any help to do anything, still chose twelve men to aid Him in His cause. Those same twelve men, promoted from positions of subordinance to those of leadership, heeded the example of their leader and delegated responsibility to seven more. The twelve whom Jesus chose would go on to lead the first group of Christians. The seven whom they chose would spread the message even further.
We’re often reminded that God won’t give us a challenge we can’t handle. The fallacy is in thinking that this means that we should attempt to solve every challenge ourselves. Sometimes the path to solution lies with the assistance of others. The blessing of delegation is that it has benefits beyond the scope of the task. Allowing someone the opportunity to help not only makes the challenge less difficult, it also empowers the other person to do great things. Who knows where Peter’s life would have gone had Jesus not called him into ministry? Or Andrew? Or John? Or Stephen?
One of the hardest things to do in life is to ask for help. It involves both humility and courage. The next time you’re in the position to ask for help, consider the life of Stephen, a life that would have turned out much differently had twelve men not made one very important decision.
