Leadership

UV 1747/10000
Leader





Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
Exodus 18 v 21

Whether a person is the captain of a small boat or a big ship, the rules of navigation of leadership remains the same. He needs to chart the course for the vessel to reach the port of destination. He needs to provide supplies for the crew. He has to take steps for the security of the vessel. He has to maintain discipline on board. He has to plan and be ready for contingencies and emergencies Above all, he should know the direction in which he should sail. He should have a compass or GPS to guide him. The complexity might increase but the rules and principles of leadership remain the same. Jethro underlined the basic principles of leadership. Ability to lead, rule, govern, judge is a given. It is a basic consideration to choose people to occupy positions of leadership. But more fundamentally, they should possess qualities and attitude of fear of God, integrity and hatred, not mere dislike of covetousness. The fear of God is the fountainhead of wisdom, of values in actual practice as against mere advocacy or professing to possess the values.
A person with ability of a high order but without the fear of God will become a law unto himself once he is clothed with authority over others. He does not hold himself accountable to those he leads. He is filled with pride and arrogance. He begins to exploit those he leads instead of serving them. If he fear s God and knows he is accountable not just for every action or reaction but for every word and even thought or emotion, he will correct himself whenever he goes wrong. If he is a believer, he will be sensitive to the whispers and promptings of the Holy Spirit and walk in the path of righteousness indicated by the Holy Spirit. All the systems of man and attempts to prevent and often even detect and punish corruption in all nations have failed in keeping the leaders on the straight and narrow.
A person who fears the Lord loves the truth hidden in His Word and learns to cherish and treasure it more than necessary food. He will be diligent in unearthing the truth and abiding by it. Even if he fails or falls, he will rise up every time and try to avoid the pitfalls of leadership. Those who neither know the truth nor have a desire to know it are like the blind leading the blind. They appear to lead but do not know where they are heading. They are like a ship without rudder or helm. They will fall into the pits of untruth and unrighteousness and lead many others also into it. A person who loves the truth will hate dishonest gain and injustice. The principles of life and leadership that underline every uni-verse steers them and leads him through the storms of life. He derives his vision from his values. He knows where he is going and where he is leading the led. He is deeply anchored in the values that give him strength and courage to face the high seas of life. He is never insecure as his faith in the Lord keeps him grounded and on an even keel at the best and worst of times.

Prateep V Philip