BLUF: Build the Right Teams

Text: “Take away the dross from the silver,

    and the smith has material for a vessel;

 take away the wicked from the presence of the king,

    and his throne will be established in righteousness” (Pr 25:4-5, ESV).

Context, Context, Context:  The first verse in the passage here deals with who/what not to have on a quality team—namely, dross. Removing dross from silver entailed heating up the material in order to purify the desired end state, i.e., the precious metal. The second verse is less scientific in tone but teaches the same principle—namely, removing the wicked from the ruler. Why? In order to have a pure kingdom. Both verses teach the same wisdom.

Encouragement: For over 25 years now I have served in the military. I’ve been part of countless teams. Some were extraordinary and some had room for improvement. Some were cohesive and each man was teachable and also a teacher. Other teams were teams in name only, where trust was low and productivity atrophied. But the best teams had this one overarching quality: the leader was a man of quality character and competence, and he required the same traits of the team. When that chemistry is fostered, what results is a fighting force to be emulated.