Synopsis: Nothing significant happens in life without someone providing good leadership to achieve it. That is just one of the immutable laws of life. Everything rises or falls on leadership — and if it is going to rise, then it will require a foundation of intelligent, sensible leadership. If it falls, it will most likely be because there was a leader who had charisma or maybe even competence but lacked character. Since God has given you some level of influence in your corner of the world, ask him to make you an intelligent, sensible, and godly leader.
Moments With God // Proverbs 28:2
When a nation sins, it will have one ruler after another. But a nation will be strong and endure when it has intelligent, sensible leaders.
Nothing significant happens in life without someone providing good leadership to achieve it. That is just one of the immutable laws of life. Everything rises or falls on leadership—and if it is going to rise, then it will require a foundation of intelligent, sensible leadership. If it falls, it will most likely be because there was a leader who had charisma or maybe even competence but lacked character. That’s why, in I Timothy 4:12, Paul told a young, developing leader named Timothy, “As a young man be an example in leadership.” In other words, Paul was saying that more than charisma and competence, it is the example of a leader’s life that counts most.
The Bible tells us that David was just such a leader. He was one of the greatest leaders in human history, not so much because of his great exploits, or even his perfect track record, but because of his personal integrity. In spite of his well-known mistakes, Psalm 78:72 says of David, “His good heart made him a good leader; he guided his people wisely and well.”
Unfortunately, a lot of leaders today in government, business, and even in the church, have loads of personal charisma and gobs of professional competence, but they bomb because they lack something far more important: a good heart. The good heart of a good leader doesn’t necessarily mean personal magnetism or off-the-charts job knowledge, but it does mean credibility and conviction. As Cavett Roberts said, “If a leader’s people understand him, he’ll get their attention. If they trust him, he’ll get their action.” You see, it is moral fiber that really counts in leadership that is worth following. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:
Every great organization is lengthened by the shadow of a single person.
The quality and character of the leader determine the quality and character of the organization. May God give us intelligent, sensible leaders who will lengthen and deepen the organizations that make up the fabric of our great nation! How we need men and women — in Washington, DC and on Wall Street, in the academy and in the church, and especially in our homes — whose character enriches and strengthens those whom they lead!
Now here is the deal: Take Emerson’s words and combine them with the words of Proverbs 28:2, then apply them to anywhere you are involved: your family, your business, your school, your church, or your local government. If you have any influence in those areas at all—and I suspect you have more influence than you realize—then those people and that organization will be strengthened, lengthened, and deepened if you will exert intelligent, sensible, good, and godly leadership.
I hope you will. The corner of the world that God has assigned to you desperately needs it. Ralph Waldo Emerson also said,
Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Consider that quote in terms of the area or areas where you have influence. In those areas, God is likely calling you to be a trailblazer for the people you lead.
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