He was not educated in military affairs, yet he was in the highest position of leadership during one of the most tragic wars in American history. As the commander in chief of the armed forces, it was Abraham Lincoln’s responsibility to bring the young nation out of this crisis.

Lincoln did not lead the nation from the battlefield. Rather, he appointed generals to lead his soldiers in battle. Lincoln had mixed results with these generals. Some of them brought him victories; others sent him excuses and requests for more troops and supplies. Some were submissive subordinates. Others wanted to do their own thing. Two of Lincoln’s generals exhibited these polar opposite attitudes: George McClellan and Ulysses Grant.

In his book Lincoln and His Generals, T. Harry Williams recounts what relationships were like between Lincoln and these two men.

Lincoln had no extensive military training or experience. He didn’t even have formal education. However, Lincoln had a logical mind, which made him an excellent overall strategist.

McClellan was a career officer. He had graduated from West Point and thought very highly of himself. He was afraid of failure and always looked for someone else to blame. If he had a partial success, he expected praise to be showered upon him. When he was summoned to Washington D.C. to become commander of the Division of the Potomac, he felt “he had been called to save his country.” He was very self-confident. Williams wrote, “McClellan always saw Lincoln as a person of inferior antecedents and abilities, who unfortunately was his superior officer.” McClellan did not respect those in authority over him. Rather, he lamented being under Lincoln’s authority. “He regarded Lincoln as an oaf, sometimes a hostile or boring one, but always lubberly. McClellan felt superior to most people; he was a natural patronizer.”

McClellan got very focused on little objectives—especially territory. Lincoln had a big-picture perspective on the war that informed his strategy. Lincoln tried to get his generals to understand his strategy for the war, but most of them had their own priorities.

Grant, like McClellan, was a West Point graduate and educated in military affairs. He could have had the same attitude as McClellan, but he understood his role as servant to president. Lincoln knew the most important objective of the war was to destroy Lee’s army. The Union army could obtain territory, but if Lee’s army remained, the war would continue. Grant saw the soundness in Lincoln’s plan, and he adopted it as his own.

Grant’s willingness to submit to Lincoln’s strategy made communications stronger between him and Lincoln than with McClellan.

Lincoln was always trying to get McClellan to act and fight. McClellan was content to conquer land. Grant knew that a victory required destroying the enemy. This contributed to Grant’s success as an offensive general.

You can easily think you know more than your superior. You may think you have a better way of doing something. But that person is there for a reason. They are probably more knowledgeable and experienced than you. If you truly are more qualified, be like Grant. Don’t take on McClellan’s attitude and lament having an ignorant oaf as your boss.

The Bible instructs us to respect those in authority over us. An example of this is the Fifth Commandment: Honor your father and your mother. Your parents are in authority over you, similar to how Lincoln was in authority over Grant and McClellan.

1 Peter 2:18 tells us to submit to those in authority even if they are bad-tempered or unjust. We aren’t only to respect them when we like what they are telling us to do. It says to be subject to them. If you have a job, apply the spirit of the law. Honor those in authority over you. Don’t treat them like they are ignorant.

While the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, one man thought Moses was unqualified to lead them. He thought he could do better. The rebellion he stirred up was literally swallowed up by the earth. Moses had his faults, but God had put him in authority, and He wanted Israel to respect the man He put in charge. (Read the story in Numbers 16.)

Have a respectful attitude toward those over you like Grant. It may seem like you know better. You may be more qualified than your boss. On paper, McClellan was more qualified than Lincoln. But working wholeheartedly under the government God places over us is crucial in life. Resisting that leadership creates all sorts of problems. Grant’s willingness to work with and under Lincoln proved to be key to his success, and the success of the Union Army and cause of the North in the Civil War.

Grant became an accomplished and consequential general; McClellan had to be replaced because of his repeated failures. One reason for the difference in outcomes traces back to the difference in their willingness to submit to their commander in chief.