The Philistines and the Israelites were at a standstill in their war, with one army on each side of a pass. Jonathan, King Saul’s son, bravely attacked a Philistine outpost with just his armor bearer and with only one sword between them. This caused a panic in the Philistine camp, allowing the Israelites to rout their enemy.
Saul, in his desire to completely defeat the Philistines, made a hasty rule that none of his men could eat until evening because he wanted them to continue fighting without taking a break. Jonathan was the first to eat, and as punishment, his father sentenced him to die.
Read 1 Samuel 14:24-48. Then answer the questions below.
- What do you think about Saul’s leadership?
- What do you think his men thought about it?
- Can you think of a time when an organization you worked for sacrificed the wellbeing of the staff in order to achieve a goal? What happened?
- Why do you think organizations and leaders sometimes put goals above the wellbeing of their staff?
- What are the consequences of this approach?
- How can we guard against doing this as an organization?
Teach Them 