This photo captures a memorable moment at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing as Great Britain’s Tim Brabants congratulates Ken Wallace of Australia who won gold in the K1 500m kayak race. In so doing, Brabants honored Wallace who had surpassed him in this particular event.

In 1 Samuel 18, we see that David continued to enjoy great success as a military leader. In fact, the women of Israel began to sing, “Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands” (1 Sam. 18:7). How did Saul respond? A congratulatory pat on the shoulder perhaps? Saul became jealous, which turned into a fear that he would lose his throne to David (1 Sam. 18:12-15). In a frantic attempt to protect his throne, Saul even tried to kill David.

Unlike Saul, servant leaders do all that they can to recruit outstanding people, make them as successful as possible, and then celebrate their success with them. It takes courage and humility to sincerely honor those who surpass us. Who are the people in our circles who we can help succeed today (and celebrate their progress with them)?

The Spirit of the Lord came upon David in a powerful way after Samuel anointed him as the next king of Israel (1 Sam. 16:13). The Lord helped David defeat Goliath and his success continued after that initial triumph (1 Sam. 18:5). True success occurs when we follow the Lord’s example and guidance in the power of the Holy Spirit.

After David defeated Goliath, King Saul catapulted him into a senior leadership position in his army (1 Sam. 18:5). As leaders, it’s important that we recognize and steward the talent represented on our teams. David’s promotion was immensely popular with the people and other army officers. The peoples’ goodwill probably spilled over to Saul as the one behind David’s promotion. At the beginning of Saul’s reign, he seemed to be able to make good leadership decisions. In this case, he promoted the right person into a significant leadership position. This was good for David, Saul and the people.