It’s Lonely At The Top

Leadership at any Level is a Tough Job

SYNOPSIS: What made David a great leader was how he endured under pressure. It wasn’t just his amazing victories, his ever-expanding kingdom, his winsome personality, and his musical skill, but it was his dogged determination to please God. David took his cues from the Chief Justice of the Universe rather than what would make him a more popular leader at the moment. More than anything, David wanted God’s blessing more than everything else—high approval ratings, more power, a larger palace, increased fame, and a stellar legacy. He simply lived for God’s smile, and that’s what made him great, that’s what fueled his endurance under pressure, that’s what enabled him to run strong and finish well. If you are a leader—in your home, at school, in your business, in the community, or at the church—live for God’s smile, and you, too, will be a great and enduring leader. At least God will think so, and he is really the only one who ultimately counts.

It’s Lonely At The Top - Ray Noah Blog

Moments With God // Psalm 109:28

Help me, O Lord my God! Save me because of your unfailing love. Let [my accusers] see that this is your doing, that you yourself have done it, Lord. Then let them curse me if they like, but you will bless me! When they attack me, they will be disgraced! But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing! May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may their humiliation cover them like a cloak. But I will give repeated thanks to the Lord, praising him to everyone. For he stands beside the needy, ready to save them from those who condemn them.

Can you imagine what it’s like being the president? At any given time, half the country, give or take, admires you and thinks you are doing a decent job, while the other half can’t wait for you to just go away. And that’s on a good day! It can be much worse than that for a president. Think about it—it is not uncommon for a sitting president to have sixty to seventy percent of the citizens treat him as if he were Satan’s spawn.

It is hard to imagine why anyone would want that job. And yet, every four years, a herd of politicians line up for their chance to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. That can only mean one of two things: They are either crazy or they are called. (Actually, there are several other motives we could talk about—but we’ll save that for another time.)

I’m not sure who said it, but they were right: It’s lonely at the top. Leadership at any level is a tough job—president, pastor, principal, or parent. In fact, it is not only tough, but it can also be lonely, sometimes thankless, and even downright painful. It certainly was for King David.

David is another man whose leadership we tend to romanticize. But if we could catch David in a brutally honest moment, I think he would tell us just how unromantic his job was. If we just go by what he says in the Psalms, David lived with persistent criticism for much of his reign. It might even seem from reading these psalms, which, in a way, was nothing more than David’s spiritual journal, that he was a little paranoid. But that was only because people were out to get him.

What made David a great leader was how he endured under pressure. It wasn’t just his amazing victories, his ever-expanding kingdom, his winsome personality, and his musical skill, but his dogged determination to please God. David took his cues from the Chief Justice of the Universe rather than what would make him a more popular leader at the moment.

If you read this entire psalm, you will notice yet again that David bookends this detailed account of his detractor’s vicious accusations with his dependence on God:

O God, whom I praise, don’t stand silent and aloof while the wicked slander me and tell lies about me. (Psalm 109:1-2)

But I will give repeated thanks to the Lord, praising him to everyone. For he stands beside the needy, ready to save them from those who condemn them. (Psalm 109:30-31)

More than anything, David wanted God’s blessing more than everything else—high approval ratings, more power, a larger palace, increased fame, a stellar legacy. He simply lived for God’s smile, and that’s what made him great, fueled his endurance under pressure, and enabled him to run strong and finish well.

If you are a leader—in your home, at school, in your business, in the community, or at the church—live for God’s smile, and you, too, will be a great and enduring leader. At least God will think so, and he is really the only one who ultimately counts.

Oh, by the way, before I go, I want to encourage you to give your president a break. Here is a good rule of thumb: Pray for him twice as much as you criticize him. Do that, and I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts that you’ll quit criticizing him.

Take A Moment: Pray for your leaders today—at every level. It is God’s will that you do just that!

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