I call this “The Explosive Expert Principle”.

And I’ve seen this principle play out over and over and over again among followers of Jesus.

The name comes from a war story my Dad told me. He was drafted into the Army and served in Vietnam as an Explosives Expert. He has some absolutely horrifying stories, but this one is actually a great illustration.

One day I asked him how he became an explosives expert. As a kid, that seemed like a really cool job. He didn’t explain the process, just told the story.

My Dad is in this big room with a bunch of other folks when a high ranking official walks in and asks: “who wants to be an explosives expert?”

Hands shot up. Apparently, it wasn’t just cool to a kid. All but one of these young soldiers were excited to blow stuff up too.

Every hand went up... except for my Dad’s.

The officer surveys the room and says “you”, pointing at my Dad, “you’re now the Explosives Expert”.

The room was confused. He didn’t volunteer.

I don’t know if he figured it out himself or the officer shared it with him, but my Dad understood the principle.

The person you CHOOSE to blow stuff up shouldn’t be the one who WANTS to blow stuff up.

Explosions are powerful, dangerous and potentially catastrophic. They cannot be frivolously employed. When you get it right, sometimes things still go wrong. When you get it wrong, you get it really wrong. Explosions are serious work and they require a posture of sobriety.

I don’t mean sobriety like “not drinking or doing drugs”, I mean seeing things clearly and understanding their magnitude.

The Explosives Expert principle works with any sense of significant power or high-stakes leadership.

Giving power (leadership, authority) to the people who crave it, often has disastrous consequences.

And that is why God often calls the least likely person. Or the unqualified person. Or the skeptical person. He doesn’t want us to underestimate His power or use it indiscriminately. Because there are often significant and deeply painful consequences.

This is why Peter was a much better leader after his denial of Jesus. He was broken. And sober. He knew what it meant to lead. And why he advises elders in 1 Peter 5 the way He does.

As followers of Jesus, sometimes He’s going to pick you to do something you wouldn’t volunteer for. Or something you would actively avoid.

But when you listen and obey, it’s better for everyone.