Exodus 18:17-20 - What you are doing is not good

18:17,18

Jethro tells Moses that what he is doing is not good. The people and Moses would be worn out. Moses would be worn out by the amount of work and the pressure. The people would also be worn out, with everything having to go through Moses. The burden is too heavy for Moses and he is not able to carry the burden. Individuals doing all the work, or too much work, is a common occurrence in churches. It can happen for various reasons. The worst case is when someone is power hungry and wants everyone to see how important they are. This can lead to terrible situations. But it can also happen for more benign reasons. The leader may think that they are the only one who can do the job properly. They may feel pressured to carry all the burden. There may be an unwillingness to believe that God can work through other people. We may be able to trust that God can work through us, despite all our weaknesses and failings, but find it impossible to trust that the grace of God can work in others in the same way.

18:19,20

Having identified the problem, Jethro also has a solution. The first part was that Moses was still to pray to God on behalf of the people. He would also make the laws of God known to the people. Not just when a situation arose, but in general teaching, so that the people had a good foundation in the ways of the Lord. So Moses was not to abdicate leadership responsibility, this is just as base as taking on undue levels of responsibility.