Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

I read this the other day:

1 Chronicles 22: 5: David said, “My son Solomon is still young and inexperienced. And since the Temple to be built for the Lord must be a magnificent structure, famous and glorious throughout the world, I will begin making preparations for it now.” So David collected vast amounts of building materials before his death.

Backstory: King David wanted to build a giant, pimped-out Temple for the LORD, but was told the task would fall to his son, Solomon.

Imagine this: Something you’ve wanted to do for as long as you can remember: Build a tribute to the God who has done so much for you. Yet you get word that this task is one you’ll never get to complete. The job will go to your son because of some of the decisions you’ve made in your life.

Talk about a punch in the gut. That would be tough to hear.

But David–not being perfect but being a man who desires to breathe the reality of heaven–responds in a different kind of way. Instead of moping and carrying-on, whining about how he would not get to walk out his “big dream,” David prepares.

David uses his resources, his time, his influence, and his positional authority to prepare the way for his son to succeed. In other words, Solomon would be building the LORD’s Temple largely due to David’s hard work. David toils while Solomon gets the credit.

Hardly seems fair, doesn’t it?

But David is a different kind of man–a different kind of leader. In the coming years, the younger generations will need King Davids to rise up. In the next 10-15 years, the Millenial Generation (1980-2000) will be thrust into leadership positions that the retiring Baby Boomers (1946-1964) will be leaving. If we do not have King Davids to help us succeed, to prepare the way for us, we will fail:

  • We will fail in business.
  • We will fail in ministry.
  • We will fail in our families.
  • We will in our marriages.

Boomers (King David): Are you willing to use your influence, positional authority, resources and time in a way that may not have any tangible returns for you personally? In ways that will only benefit the generation that is coming up behind you?

Millenials (Solomon): Are you humbly willing to accept the resources, time, and wisdom of an older generation in order to succeed in what God has called you to do? To “stand on the shoulders of giants?”

Well, are you?

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Contributor: Justin Wise

I am a religious deviant who enjoys coffee, collared shirts, spending time with my wife and son, learning about quantum physics and creatively exploring the riches of the Spirit of Christ. Find more here: JustinWise.me
  • Alyssa T.
    I love this! :) Gets me so excited

    Reminds me of the book called "Dream Giver" by Bruce Wilkinson. Ever read it?
    perfect quote from it states...

    "I have fought Giants ahead of you. You will fight more after me. But we still have the same BIG dream" Death is not my defeat its my victory.
  • Great post and very true. Having 10 years expereince as a youth pastor/worker the need for this kind of mentoring and preparing has never been greater. Unfortunately in my expereince it has been extremely hard to engage the boomers in any kind of mentoring situation with those younger than themselves. There has to be give and take here but it seems that those in leadership today are not interested in developing the next generation of leaders... I fall into the Gen X/Gen Y gap (born 1979) and find that i often have to be the bridge between the two. Perhaps Gen X's leadership role in all of this is to glean what we can from the Boomers and pass that on to Gen Y... we may never 'be' the leaders but we have an important part to play in developing the leaders of the future...

    my 2 cents anyway
    http://andrewedwards.wordpress.com/
  • Sent from my iPhone. End digital transmission.
  • I'm a Boomer that believes in the upcoming generation of leaders. Some will fail. That's life, but some will be used of God to reach a new generation. I want my last seasons of life to be spent encouraging emerging leaders through this changing spiritual landscape.
  • Daryl... Would you say that your attitude and posture is shared by others in your generation? What's the \"temperature\" of the Boomer generation toward the younger generation in your context?
  • Those poor people born between 1965-1979 are gonna be irked as they get passed over. They're the Fredo generation apparently. I'm very late '79, but sometimes feel like I'm going to have to fight for my moment since I'll be just finishing my 30's when all of this goes down.
  • Fredo? What's Fredo?

    And yes, Gen X'ers will be the "sandwiched" generation, unfortunately....
  • Fredo was the passed-over son in the Godfather. There's some other implications there too, if you've seen the movies.
  • Ah yes, the Godfather trilogy. I remember how you loved it so. Poor Fredo.
  • Good post! I think this pattern continues to repeat itself in a sense in the concept of a multi-generational vision for the future. I've considered this many times in the past few years in the context of being a father. It is a humbling thing to view look at the specific vision I have and our family has and to know that I cannot do it all in my lifetime and thus must intentionally prepare my children to carry it on. Not only that but train the next generation so they can pick up where I and others left off and not have to start all over again. Sadly many don't have a vision to pass on or find themselves starting over in order to build all over again.
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