 1 Samuel 25:21-24
David wanted to kill him. Nabal had insulted him and his mighty men by refusing to compensate for their protection. His wrath was explosive and he demanded revenge. Nabal was so obtuse, he did not even realize what was about to befall him. Had it not been for Abigail, his wise and socially astute wife, he and every male in his household would have been violently executed by morning. Never underestimate the importance of people skills. No one goes to the next level without it. Those with such skills have a unique social intelligence—a capacity to navigate and negotiate complex social relationships and environments. For some people it comes naturally, for others like Nabal it does not. He was a scoundrel (Verse 25), a social misfit who was completely insensitive to how his actions and words were effecting those around him and it almost got him killed. Abigail, on the other hand, was a genius when it came to dealing with people. Although married to an ignorant brute, she demonstrated a remarkable proclivity and grace with people that not only saved every man in her home, it propelled her to the next level. Having won David’s affection by her finesse (and after Nabal died of a heart attack) Abigail married David and would become a queen over Israel. She was a hero. And her story is an example to demonstrate the crucial role that people skills have in success in life. In fact, there are three major components of people skills we can learn from Abigail to serve as an example for us: likability, empathy and communication. Over the next few weeks, I’ll post some blogs to explain Abigail’s use of people skills and how these would take her to the next level. For more information, check out my latest book, UPWARD: Taking Your Life to the Next Level now available on Amazon. Comments are closed.
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It was concerning King Saul that David said, “How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished.” His was a life that began with great promise and celebration, but ended in miserable failure and humiliation. His life is an example of how the mightiest of leaders fail.
Why do great men and women fall? How do leaders, quick to ascend with such promise of unparalleled success, find themselves awash in disastrous failure and disgrace? More importantly, can the path toward one’s downfall be discerned before it’s too late and be avoided? It is the premise of my newest book, How The Mighty Have Fallen that such a decline can be detected and reversed. The life and leadership career of King Saul, Israel's first king, provides us with a treasury of examples of "what not to do." The below blog post is the first in series of excerpts from the book to examine and avoid Saul's mistakes and find a successful path through leadership. READ AN EXCERPT |
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