It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way

“You are not serious people.”

Logan Roy, Succession

I highly enjoyed a series on HBO called Succession. It is about a highly-successful businessman who now has to confront age-related challenges, including health, family relationships, and, as the series title announces, succession. The succession issue is made even more complex (and entertaining) by the many different characters wanting a piece of his vast business empire. There are his loyal executives who have been with him for many decades, there are competitors ready to pounce, there’s the media looking for an angle, government officials looking for irregularities, and of course, his family, each with his or her own entitlement.

But as with many things that make good TV, the values and behaviors in Succession, would be horrible in real life – and would lead to real longterm consequences such as broken relationships, destroyed value, and lost opportunity. Sadly, at least from my limited perspective, many of the succession stories playing out around me, in a wide range of industries, have experienced exactly the same broken relationships, destroyed value, and lost opportunity that the writers and directors of Succession captured very vividly.

Succession Tension

Ideally, succession should be a moment of graceful exits and grateful successors but many times what we have is growing tension. We see this tension in the Biblical story of King Saul (the first king of Israel) and David (who would go on to become the second king). As David’s accomplishments grew and his popularity increased, Saul’s jealousy towards him also grew.

The verses say:

⁵ Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.

⁶ When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. ⁷ As they danced, they sang:

“Saul has slain his thousands,
    and David his tens of thousands.”

⁸ Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” ⁹ And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.

A similar succession tension would arise for King David – twice! His sons Absalom and Adonijah would both try to take his throne, with Absalom nearly succeeding.

This first part of my Succession series are my thoughts from the perspective of a successor. I’ll share my thoughts on graceful exits (or how not to be a King Saul) in another post.

The Men Who Would Be King

Interestingly, both Absalom and Adonijah would have good reasons for wanting to take the throne from King David. Absalom was angry for what happened to his sister, Tamar, and felt great injustice when King David didn’t punish him. From then on, he took matters into his own hands, leading to all-out rebellion. Adonijah, is interesting because he arises at a time when King David is very old and less capable. Not only does he show willingness to take responsibility at a time when leadership was weak, he collaborated with some of his father’s people, and did have some claim due to primogeniture.

But in both cases, even with their legitimate claims, both sons failed follow the example of their father when he was faced the possibility of succeeding King Saul.

Our Response Reveals Our Heart

David is a good example of the right posture to take when in a position to succeed someone. Though growing in achievements, though increasing in popularity, though being ready, willing, and able to take over a weakening and failing King Saul, he chose not to dishonor King Saul. Even when the situation got life-threatening, David opted to run away and hide instead of fight Saul. There is a moment when David and one of his men, Abishai, successfully sneak into King Saul’s camp and had an opportunity to kill the sleeping King Saul. David’s response is amazing:

9 But David said to Abishai, “Don’t you dare hurt him! Who could lay a hand on God’s anointed and even think of getting away with it?”
– 1 Samuel 26:9

I realize now why David responded that way. He didn’t want to take from Saul what God had given Saul because David didn’t want what Saul had. David wanted what God had for him. David wasn’t going to take from someone else. He would wait for what God would grant him. Because of this, he would struggle, hide in caves, develop new and unconventional relationships, and break dogma, all of which would shape him to become a much greater leader than his predecessor as he stewarded the kingdom God would eventually give him.

Reflection: Am I Looking Beyond Wat Others Have?

As I think about the stories of King Saul, King David, Absalom, and Adonijah, I think about the character traits of each and how they show up in my own behavior. There is a very high chance that someday, I may act like King Saul when it’s my time to be succeeded (I’ll share that on my next post) but there is the very present temptation and inclination to be more like Absalom and Adonijah, to use real injustice to fuel bitterness, to expose obvious failure to bring dishonor, and to view what someone else has as in the way of the greater things in store for me.

How can I be an innovative, effective, and transformative leader when so much of my energy is going to the gravitational pull of old experiences? Just as one can be trapped in old ways, old practices, and old beliefs, I can also be held down by past experiences, particularly past trauma, and my own character flaws.

My hope is that I can develop the type of virtue, faith, and strength of character of a King David, who can look beyond what others have to the greater things ahead. And I hope that we learn to be wary of anyone, leaders, friends, influencers, pundits, commentators, relatives, etc, who spend considerably greater energy tearing others down than building greater value. These people resonate with us because we feel they bring some sort of justice, but they’re really not bringing a solution. They’re pouring gas on a fire that’s threatening to consume us instead of leading us to a better place.

And I’m excited for new leaders that are coming out of nowhere. I’m not interested in the currently-positioned and currently-popular, but looking out for those on the fringes. We don’t know about them because they’re growing their roots more than stretching their branches and they’re in the trenches, with us, more than social media. These are the ones who are not distracted by unnecessary drama and held back by ineffective dogma. Their energy is not going to tearing down some old establishment but focused on fulfilling their own mandates. They’re poised for greater things because they’re not limited to what others already have but developing themselves to be ready for the much much more ahead.

But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.

Titus 3:9