Along the way, we had the opportunity to visit Kruger National Park, where we saw hundreds of animals of all kinds.  We saw some amazing things – elephants walk literally yards from us, monkeys going in & out of the room we were staying in, vultures waiting for a lion to finish off a zebra.  We even saw the “big five” all in one day (elephant, lion, buffalo, rhino & leopard).  What an adventure!

I think the most amazing thing we saw, though, was an actual lion hunt.  As we drove around the corner there sat a huge male lion (yea, that’s him in the picture…we were THAT close!!).  At first we were simply in awe of the beast, but then, as we looked around, we started spotting several other lions spread out across the plain.  It wasn’t long before we spotted the small herd of impala in the distance.  Ahh, it must be lunch time and they are getting ready for some impala sandwiches!!

As we watched, the lions out on the plain would take turns moving up, closer and closer to the unsuspecting lunch meat. They were working together to meet their objective.  And then we noticed who the influencer was…our friend, the big guy, quietly watching from the back of the group.  Every once in awhile, as the pride of lions moved closer to the impala, the big guy would slowly get up, meander a few yards closer, and lay back down.  When this happened, all eyes were on him!  Every single one of the other 8 or 10 lions stopped in their tracks.  They turned and froze, watching what the leader was going to do.  They didn’t look at the impala.  They didn’t look at us.  They took their cues solely from their leader.  When he moved, they paid attention. 

Now there are lots of lessons we can talk about regarding this lion & leadership – some positive and some negative.  But the point is that this lion was the influencer and the pride he “oversaw” paid attention.  Everyone of the other lions, in some way or another, was a leader, but they watched him.  Everyone of us is a leader in some way, but we all (with very few exceptions) follow another God-placed leader.  Do we take our qeues from them?  Do we watch when they move?  Do we listen when they speak?  Are we supportive to what’s important to them?  It’s easy to get distracted – even by good things like impala sandwiches – but ultimately we are called to follow the leader God has placed over us. 

So who are you watching?