Jesus Behind The Scene

 

Jesus Had A Healthy Behind The Scene

Mark 1:35

"And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed."

What people do when no one is watching can be disappointing. For those in the place of leadership, it should not be mentioned that what they do behind the scene is not worthy of mention. What leaders do behind the scene takes most of their time (in most cases). What they do in public can be one third (or less) of their time (with a few exception). It may vary from person to person.

The leader's time can be shared into three i.e. time in public, time with others in private and time in private (alone or with someone or people in intimate privacy) when no one is watching. Most of what a leader does in public is motivated and inspired by the time he spents in private. It is like building a house. The foundation of the house must be built first then the structure and then the roof. To start building from the roof is an error. When the foundation is properly laid then the structure and the roof will have no problem.

For Jesus, there is a way he prepares to be in public daily. It was his daily habit. By this, his day was made.

"... into a solitary place, and there prayed."

During prayer, he conditioned his mind to do the will of God. He separated himself from people and daily activity. 

"... in the morning, rising up a great while before day, ... departed into a solitary place, and there prayed."

You may not appreciate this approach until you see what others do in private. When leaders come to the public to make proclamations, in most cases, they consulted with a lot of people behind the scene. The public may not be aware of what was discussed in private. If they consulted with the wrong people, the decisions that may come out of the consultation will affect the public negatively. Such was the case with Rehoboam. His father was King Solomon, who was a wise King. Inspite of his wisdom, some people were hurt by the decisions he made while a King. When Solomon died and his son took over, the people brought their complain for a change. Rehoboam went behind the scene to make consultation with two sets of people. The first set were men who had experience while working with Solomon and the second set of people were younger and without experience. He had no guiding principle as to which of the two sets he will listen to the more. 

1 Kings 12:8

"But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:..."

All the consultation took place behind the scene. The public did not know the details of the consultation. They only heard the final outcome. What happened behind the scene resulted to a revolt which turned the nation upside down. What do you think Rehoboam should have done? Should he have taken the advise of the older men? Should he have found a middle line? Could there had been a an alternative option? A careful look at what Rehoboam did compared to what Jesus did, the difference is clear. Rehoboam had the experience of his father. When Solomon became King, one of the first things he did was to consult God according to the laid out rules established by David his father. He consulted with God and he was given wisdom and wealth to rule. Solomon consulted with God before fully going public but his son choose differently. This is a simple case example. For some like Samson, they consulted with their girl friends while others consulted with idols and evil spirits like Ahab:

1 Kings 16:33

"And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him."

A lot happens behind the scene. Much of leadership failure happens behind the scene. When people are not watching, leaders do a lot of things that may jeopardize the 'Big Picture'. The people can not see what the leader carries in mind. The picture in the mind of the leader was painted behind the scene.

The public life is what the people can see and identify with while the private life with friends, family, etc happens behind the scene.

Building A Healthy Life Behind The Scene.

Luke 2:40

"And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him."

The growing stage of a child is the age of preparation. If the child can not learn to make healthy decisions while growing, it is most probably the child will grow up to have an unhealthy behind the scene, which can have a negative effect on his leadership. The child must have an healthy all-round growth to be able to make impact positively.

Luke 2:40

"...the child grew, ...in spirit, ...with wisdom: and the grace of God ..."

This is where it all starts. Irrational decisions, unhealthy display of emotions and carelessness starts from childhood. If for any reason the child missed the childhood training, mentorship and discipleship will correct some of the missing pieces.

Behind the scene, Jesus prayed. Behind the scene, he answered the questions of those who wanted to learn more than what the public is ready to learn. Behind the scene, he had time to be alone to pray and rest.

If you are to disect the hours of the day, the days of the week and then weeks of the year, will we say that your life is moving in the right direction? 

Behind the scene is no time for carelessness. It is not a time to waste listening to people who have nothing to offer. When the 'Behind The Scene' is healthy, it becomes a script for good leadership.

Pray:

Father, help me to build a healthy relationship with You behind the scene. Help me to be true to myself behind the scene. Help me to learn correctly. By this, You will help me to be a good leader. I receive help in Jesus name. Amen!