Is It Not I?
1 Chronicles 21:17
"And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued."
One of the most important parts of leadership is learning to take responsibility when wrong happens. God saw Israel had sinned, and because of their sin He was going to judge them. We learn that Satan provoked David to number Israel which was against the Word of God. This action by David must have been the final act that moved God to judge Israel. However, when it came time to get right with God so that His judgment would end, David took the whole responsibility for what happened. You will notice that David said, "Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed;..." David could have blamed it on everyone else, but he knew that part of leadership is taking responsibility for wrong when it occurs.
One of the mistakes of leadership today is the blaming of others for what happens. In the political world, you see the president and political leaders blaming the other party or previous leaders for the condition of the country. In churches, I often see preachers who want to blame people for their sin. This only leads to the detriment of the individuals who have sinned. Sin will not be dealt with as long as leaders point their fingers at others instead of taking personal responsibility for what they've done. If leaders would take personal responsibility, then you would find followers would take personal responsibility as well.
You will notice that David did not blame the messenger who told him that he had sinned; rather, he took the personal responsibility for his own actions. Let me ask you, since when is the messenger who points out the sin the bad person? They did nothing wrong. They only did what they were supposed to do. Christian, you can blame the messenger who pointed out the sin as the problem, but you are not dealing with the real problem. The real problem that must be dealt with is sin. Pointing at others only deflects the attention away from the real problem; thus, the problem is never dealt with. You must not fall into the trap of blaming the messenger.
Furthermore, you will notice that David did not give any excuse for his actions. Again, as long as you give excuses for why you did wrong, you will never deal with the issue at hand. Leaders must be careful about trying to excuse away their wrong. You will never solve your problems if you use excuses for wrong.
The answer for correcting problems is to say what David said, "Is it not I..." This is a real need for leadership today. Everything rises and falls at the feet of leadership. So, if you want everyone to get right, then you need to take responsibility for what you have done. It is you who chose to do wrong. It is you who made the bad decision. It is you who sinned, and nobody made you do it. The core of a great leader will not blame anyone else for what happened, but they will take full responsibility for their own actions.
Do you find yourself trying to deflect wrong away from you and place it on others? You will never truly solve your problems until you say, "Is it not I..." Stop blaming your children, spouse, friends, circumstances or anyone else, but take the blame for what you've done and correct your actions. It is when you say, "Is it not I..." that you will find God will begin to turn his judgment into mercy. Always look to blame yourself as your first reaction when wrong happens, for that is what will start the process of correcting the problem.