Divine Leadership
Scripture Reading: Exodus 18:10–21
“And Moses’ father-in-law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God,” Exodus 18:17–19.
Divine Leadership
This passage reveals a divine management principle. As long as there are people on earth, there will be a need to manage them in such a way that they will experience positive leadership: one they will respect and find to be effective. This is biblical. I offer encouragement by stating that the seed of leadership is in everyone at different levels. Jethro commanded Moses to appoint rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens in Exodus 18:21, and as the population increases on earth, the need for management persists. Today, there are people who are rulers over millions.
Good leaders must have these ten attributes:
You cannot be a good leader if you are not capable of loving unconditionally. This is not about romantic or family love, but agape love, which is the type of love God has for His people. A good leader must have the capability to love all who are under his leadership.
A good leader must serve as a good example; a mentor to people. A good leader must therefore have exemplary character.
A good leader must be able to administer. If you do not have administrative gifts, and cannot engage people, or delegate responsibility, then you are not an effective leader. You must have the ability to administer, admire, and admonish the people you are leading.
A good leader must possess the virtue of discipline. Discipline here means you must deliberately institute standards and consistently implement them for a purposeful life of increase, nobility, and excellence.
Excellence must be your watchword in all that you do. Only the best is good enough. Our God’s name is called Excellent and that is why David says, in Psalm 8, “O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name.” God signs His signature with excellence. He created the heavens and the earth, and that is why we look at His true nature and cannot but declare it as excellent.
A good leader must embrace righteousness. Righteousness is doing the right thing towards your fellow man.
A good leader must be a good steward. A steward is available for all kinds of duty; no task is too big or too small.
A good leader must be holy. Holiness means having the right relationship with God. It means you bow to God because you reverence God. Acts of holiness are relevant to God.
Holiness has little relevance to man, but holiness is important because to be a good leader, one has to have an attitude of reverence to God.A good leader must be inspirational. You must not provoke people or bring out the worst in them through negativity, but rather you must inspire people to bring out the best in them.
A good leader must be purposeful, and lead people to their purpose in God. True leadership is purposeful.
If you are a ruler of tens, this applies to you. If you are only leading your family, you are a leader and this applies to you also. Perhaps you are leading a church or a fellowship. You must manifest leadership qualities to make God appreciate and reward you for manifesting the virtues of effective leadership.
Many are often conscious of the priviledges of leadership; but leadership carries with it many responsibilities. May God give us the grace to begin to relate to the responsibilities of leadership in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Prayer Points:
Father, I thank you for the priviledge of leadership. I pray for all who have been appointed to the position of leadership, that the spirit of love and exemplary character be in them at all times in Christ Jesus. Father, help your people manifest the qualities of true leadership in Jesus’ name.
If you are a leader and you are not under the leadership of God, pray with me, “Lord Jesus, I surrender my life to you. Be my leader, and make me an effective leader for you in Jesus name.”
