Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg’s book, “Lean In” was at the top of the New York Times Bestseller list again last week. All across the country, reading circles have been formed for women and men to discuss Sandberg’s thesis of why women have not excelled and achieved in the corporation Boardrooms.  She shares many lessons and has done a great job of chunking down those lessons into obvious actions that can be learned and acted upon. One of those is when she writes of women not seeking the power seats in meetings. She says that women don’t go for the seats at the table (and I would add, to the middle of the table) and instead will sit at the seats off of the table. In my experience, she is right and this is something that can change and we as men, need to not only accept, but should encourage this shift until it becomes a non-issue. 

As believers, our power seat is not to be in the middle of the table.  Our power seat is to be as close to the Father as we can be, but we get there in a totally different way and for a different reason.  First of all, the reason we want to be close to the Father is not to be powerful in His eyes or in the eyes of others.  It is instead it is to seek to receive His power so that we can give glory to Him in all that we do.  Secondly, we can’t earn or push our way for His power.  Instead, all we have to do is accept and allow ourselves to become powerless. How ironic but how beautiful God’s ways are different than the world’s. The less we are, the more we are given. The least of us are the greatest. Those who spend their lives to humanly excel and achieve, the less God has room to do His work though us.  So, today, consider the power seat that we are seeking. Is it the right one?

Reference: Ephesians 3:19-20 (New Living Translation)