When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham! “Here I am,” he replied.
— Genesis 22:9-11
A story of child sacrifice (albeit unfulfilled) would seem a strange way to begin a series on leadership lessons from scripture, but please bear with me. In common with many a theologian, ancient and modern, I understand the stories from scripture as teaching stories, not literal fact. Hearing them thus opens up the possibility of applying what is being taught to our own lives, in our own contexts, today, now.
The story of Abraham and Isaac is a story about parenting, love, faith and challenge, but most importantly it is a story about release, about letting go of old ideas. Ancient peoples engaged in human sacrifice, and Abraham’s people were no different. This story though sets them apart, introduces Abraham’s people as God’s chosen. God here is telling Abraham, “this is not what is expected of you—your people will transcend this base practice, you will be set apart.”
Child sacrifice was acceptable, because in those times children were considered—alongside cattle, asses, slaves, tents and furniture—as possessions. The parent (the father, to be precise) owned the child, who was expected to do what he or she was told without question. But people are not meant to be enslaved, either to parents or to anyone else.1
In modern times, in the corporate workplace people are called ‘resources’, considered as possessions of the employer, expected to do what they are told without question. Project managers are taught to ‘level their resources’ to ensure that no employee has slack time, everyone is always busy, with little time to think. This way the corporate entity retains control and remains always in charge.
It is this idea of release, letting go of old ideas, that is relevant to us, to this series. Release is a quality sorely missing in our modern corporate work environments, absorbed as we are by the need to control, to control both people and outcomes. To move forward we must release old ideas and behaviours, cast them aside in favour of the new.
Learning to Love
Parenting is not easy. Indeed raising a child is probably one of the most challenging endeavours a human can undertake. And most of us are ill-prepared for it. We receive no formal parenting education, and are expected to know how to do it because we ourselves have been parented. Just do what your parents did. We do, and all the same dysfunction becomes manifest. Patterns continue. Nothing changes.
Let’s reframe that in a corporate context.
Leadership is not easy. Indeed guiding and nurturing a team is probably one of the most challenging endeavours of the modern workplace. And most of us are ill-prepared for it. We receive little formal leadership training, and are expected to know how to do it because we ourselves have been led—or more often, ‘managed’. Just do what your previous manager did. We do, and all the same dysfunction becomes manifest. Patterns continue. Nothing changes.
Yet we parents do our best. We leaders do our best. Bold and curious we learn what we can from the wisdom and writings of psychologists, philosophers and other parents—other leaders—and we experiment. We try out new ideas, implement new theories. Sometimes, actually quite often, mistakes are made, and when that happens we are encouraged by well-meaning family members or colleagues to retreat back to familiar ground, to what we know, what we often describe as ‘safe’. In both cases, the home and the corporation, exerting control and expecting compliance is the default, ‘safe’ approach.
The story of Abraham and Isaac can be understood as a prelude to the Book of Exodus. God is telling Abraham, Let my people go. You no more own this son than a king owns his subjects. You have no rights over the life of another. Let Isaac go, release him—and thus all future descendants—into my care. Man belongs to God, to the universal life force, not to another man. Each shall be free.
A different kind of control
If we, as leaders and aspiring leaders approached our work with a spirit of release, we would learn to trust, we would see others as the vulnerable human beings they are, allow them to make mistakes, and to create an environment where those mistakes lead to learning and growth. This is not lack of control, it is simply a different kind of control. We look to control outcomes, rather than human beings. We don’t have to bind people to ensure we get what we want. If we release them with love, we may find we get what we actually need.
Abraham found freedom from the bondage of self—yes, he was as much bound as was Isaac. As leaders we create our own bondage, a bondage of fear and; we too can release ourselves, and in doing so can release others, release creativity, and generate loving, nurturing environments where those we care for grow into their full potential.
Recommended reading: The Binding of Isaac by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.