God called Samuel three times. Three times Samuel went to Eli thinking that his mentor was the one calling out for him. Two times Eli sent Samuel back to bed clarifying that Eli had not called him. The third time, Eli discerned that it was God calling and that the child was simply confused. With coached instructions about how to respond, the fourth time Samuel finally replied to the Lord: ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Everybody wants the power and agency to speak. Not everyone knows how to temper the way we speak with humility.
“Then the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
We are called to speak. God speaks to us in order to speak through us. In the days of Samuel serving as a small boy in the temple, God was not bothered about his youth. Words from God were rare in those days and visions infrequent. Eli the priest was losing his eyesight and could not see well. Samuel was lying down in the temple near the ark of God, right before dawn, when God called Samuel by name. Samuel was seen, known, named, and called. Yet Samuel had not yet seen, known, named nor called God (1 Samuel 3:7).
God called Samuel three times. Three times Samuel went to Eli thinking that his mentor was the one calling out for him. Two times Eli sent Samuel back to bed clarifying that Eli had not called him. The third time, Eli discerned that it was God calling and that the child was simply confused. With coached instructions about how to respond, the fourth time Samuel finally replied to the Lord: ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.”
God spoke to Samuel so that Samuel could speak as part of his prophetic calling. Additionally, God was going to call Samuel to speak into his own mentor’s life and give him a challenging and convicting word about the corruption in the sanctuary. Samuel was afraid to do so. Who wouldn’t be? He was young and was being called to lead up. This required diplomacy, truth-telling, and grace-giving. Eli even said: “Do not hide [the word that God spoke] from me” (1 Samuel 3:17). So Samuel told him everything, hid nothing from him, and Samuel grew and the Lord was with him. I find it interesting that telling the truth to his mentor made Samuel grow in his leadership skills. Samuel told the truth even as he was afraid to do so.
At my first job straight after college, after a particularly difficult staff meeting, my boss pulled me into his office and shut the door. His voice was gentle but no less firm. I sat across from him nervously and heard him say: “Hey Inés, what you said at the staff meeting to so-and-so was awesome. You were right on target… but the way you said it to her was AWFUL. Do you think you could offer critical feedback to others in a way that doesn’t destroy them but instead builds them up?” My face blushed and I felt the weight of my words. I knew exactly what he was referring to. I had spoken truth, but I knew full well how harshly I had spoken that truth. The way that I spoke was as important, if not more than the truth that was told.
Everybody wants the power and agency to speak. Not everyone knows how to temper the way we speak with humility. I will never forget that lesson and the courage that it took my boss to point out my blind spot. As an emerging leader then, I could have gone years speaking truth without speaking it with grace. Truth-telling and grace-giving go hand in hand as each of us are leaders in every room that we walk into. In boardrooms, in living rooms, in classrooms, in grocery stores, life and death are in the power of the tongue. Thanks be to God that this speaking with truth and grace is not a destination but a daily journey where we get to begin anew every morning.
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