Day 15—Friday, March 6

Isaiah 56:11

They are dogs with mighty appetites;

              they never have enough.

They are shepherds who lack understanding;

              they all turn to their own way,

              they seek their own gain.

The book of Isaiah is filled with accounts of Israel’s sin and warnings of what will come if the continuation of such sin remains the standard practice of the Israel kingdom. This passage is no different. Here, Isaiah speaks of Israel’s watchmen that are suppose to be watching and caring for their people, yet they only watch over them selves for their own personal benefit.

To be a watchman or a shepherd is a position that mandates trust from others. If a person believes the watchman is terrible at their job, that person may not sleep at night and the next day will be a waste. If a sheep thinks the shepherd has no idea where the fresh grass blades are, the sheep could wonder off and starve. This makes the watchmen and shepherds powerful, to the point they are leaders, whether they know it or not.

Isaiah is telling us that we are to be watchful, diligent, and humble when in this leadership role.  I was considering these traits when in a forum about AI in mining and autonomous trucks already in the quarry mines. My initial thought was about the amount of trust we would lose if we laid miners off due to self-driving mining equipment. I was thinking, we are not being watchful, we are watching and implementing new technology taking over a lively hood. I am not diligent; I am sitting on my hands while it happens. I am also not being humble; I know this technology better than you.

As our forum kept discussing, we acknowledge that autonomous machines are coming. However, we want to keep our workforce. The groups began to discuss - after an operator leaves the equipment for good, what can he/she become? We moved into being watchful, we know this is coming - how can we help those affected to learn new things? It will take diligence to get ahead of the AI game and start educating our miners. Leaders will have to be humble to admit they still need help.

Leadership roles are in all aspects of our lives, not just work. These words from Isaiah are a good reminder for parents, politicians, coaches, teachers, etc. I hope we can learn from Isaiah as we make decisions that may affect others.

Dear Lord, Let us all remember Isaiah’s words when we are in a leadership role. Let us not be greedy dogs with no end to our appetite. Please help us be shepherds that care, watch, and lead with humility. Amen.

-Hunter Moore