HAL BRADY: A different spirit

Not long ago I read about a man who audited a doctoral seminar on leadership. One day the professor asked each of the participants in his class to tell one thing at which they excelled. The man said he dreaded questions like that because he still was not sure of what he did best. And besides, it sounded to him like bragging. But when his turn came all he could think to say was this, “I am best at not quitting.”

Now, at first that answer sounds a little strange, but when you consider all the obstacles we face in life the power to persist is remarkable. Without question, one of my favorite Old Testament characters is Caleb. The reason is that Caleb had a different spirit. But I’m getting ahead of the story. Under the direction of God, Moses sent 12 leaders of Israel to spy out the Promised Land. What kind of land is it and what about the people who live there? At the end of 40 days, these spies returned to give their report. Ten of the 12 reported that capturing the Promised Land was a total impossibility. It just couldn’t be done. “The enemy is just too strong and numerous for us. We seemed to ourselves and to them like grasshoppers.” What possible good are grasshoppers against a powerful opposing army? But Caleb, one of the two remaining spies, quieted the people and urged, “Let us go up at once, and occupy it; for we are well able to overcome it.” That different spirit is truly a remarkable thing to behold. For the rest of this article, I want to focus on several of the attitudes that we bring to life, with the hope that all of us will have the Caleb spirit — that different spirit.