June 15 And Now, A Message for Leaders, Us

(The word “king” is replaced with “leader.”)
O my son, do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin leaders. It’s not for leaders to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish. Let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly. Defend the rights of the poor and needy. ~Proverbs 31:2-9 (edited)

An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. ~Titus 1:6-9

Do you remember that, in the past, I have said that we are all leaders? For that reason, I believe that it is always important to consider what God has to say when He addresses the topic of leadership. First of all, it is important that we heed the guidelines that God has put in place for when we are considering who should be our leaders. But also, since it has been established that we are all leaders in some way, it is important that we review these characteristics for our own lives to consider where we are or have fallen short as leaders.

From the passages that we read above, I believe that good leaders should have three main characteristics in common: be intentional, be caring and set a good example. To be intentional is to be thoughtful and deliberate in what you say, how you behave and how you govern. It requires self-discipline, something that would be a challenge to someone who is always drunk, or easily led astray by earthly pleasures.

A leader knows that it isn’t just about him or her, or about what will be easy or comfortable. The good of those who have entrusted leadership to him or her, is always of most importance. A leader comes into position because of the trust that has been earned to serve there. Putting one’s own pleasures and interests above those being served is a betrayal of trust. Being intentional in leadership means that the leader is guarding his or her heart against such weaknesses and distractions to keep those that are trusting that leader safe.

Care and sensitivity are shown in the ability to empathize with those in your care. Consider how the writer of Hebrews describes even Jesus taking this ability seriously. “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)

Jesus uses the experiences He had, here on earth to sympathize with us before His Father in Heaven. Leaders remember from where they have come. They use the pain and lessons of their past to sympathize with those they are serving now. Be assured, what you have been through was not for nothing. In God’s economy, He will use it to help you bless others.

In your past, you may not have understood the, “why,” and here on earth, you may never fully know, but be assured, what you have endured has helped you become something to someone that you could not have been without it. Leaders use their history to know how to care for others.

Finally, leaders set a good example. They practice what they preach. Their homes may not be a perfect model of Christian living, but they are definitely a model of how to lean on God to help them through the tough stuff. I remember when we first began having challenges with our son Christopher. I approached the superintendent over me in our former denomination to ask him if, in good faith, I should resign my position because I had a son out of control and I was not living up to what, I understood at the time, to be the requirements for overseers as laid out in this passage from Titus and also in 1 Timothy 3.

Bob, the Superintendent, was a good, kind friend. He assured me that we would all pray our way through this heart ache together. Interestingly enough, while I long to see Chris in a close relationship with the Lord, and that is my heart’s desire above all else, God has used our struggle with Chris as part of our testimony to be able to encourage others to hang on to their faith through the really tough stuff. Hopefully, we’re setting an example of how to lean on Christ.

Having Christ in the center of your marriage, leaning on him through financial and medical struggles: in all this, we are setting an example of the true walk with Christ, that the world needs to see to give them hope that the hard things can be grown through with God at the center of one’s life. What do the unbelievers have when the hard times come, faith in themselves, hope in themselves, faith in a doctor or a medicine? What happens when those things fail? It is again the difference between shifting sand and the Rock eternal.

What we have is solid and we lead well when we set the example of how to stand on that solid Rock with confidence. Most of us don’t ask to be leaders. Most of us would prefer not to be one. Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, we are all leaders of someone. The question for us is, will we lead well?

Prayer: Oh Lord, lead me Good Shepherd. And as I follow You, then I can be reasonably confident that anyone following me will be following you because I am. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Song: Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us