September 3 - What is a Leader?

by Audrey Bauman

Proverbs 28 and 29  (The Message)

Over the next days we are going to look at verses from both Proverbs 28 and 29. Both chapters deal with the same issues.  Solomon obviously wants to stress these points since he repeats himself a lot.

Today, let's look at what Solomon says about leadership:

Proverbs 28

2 When the country is in chaos,
     everybody has a plan to fix it—
 But it takes a leader of real understanding
     to straighten things out. 

16 Among leaders who lack insight, abuse abounds,
     but for one who hates corruption, the future is bright. 

28 When corruption takes over, good people go underground,
     but when the crooks are thrown out, it’s safe to come out. 

Proverbs 29

2 When good people run things, everyone is glad,
     but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans. 

4 A leader of good judgment gives stability;
     an exploiting leader leaves a trail of waste. 

12 When a leader listens to malicious gossip,
     all the workers get infected with evil. 

14 Leadership gains authority and respect
     when the voiceless poor are treated fairly. 

I'm sure as you read these verses today, political leaders started popping up in your thoughts. Especially these days, we think of Russia and the very rich leaders in charge who are waging a war that is killing many of their citizens as well as destroying Ukraine. The negative comments about leaders in these verses affirm what we see in Russia: "among leaders who lack insight, abuse abounds"; "when corruption takes over, good people go underground"; "when the ruler is bad, everyone groans"; "an exploiting leader leaves a trail of waste". 

What are the good qualities of leadership that these verses talk about? A good leader has "real understanding", they "hate corruption", they look for "stability", they look for true facts, and they care for the "voiceless poor".  

What are the results of this kind of leadership? Life follows a more predictable pattern; there is not chaos. People are happy knowing that life will be stable and they will have opportunities to do well. They look to the future as being bright -   not worrisome. They don't feel like they have to hide because corruption will not succeed. People respect their leaders and will follow what they are proposing.

It's important to have good leaders in government as well as business. As Christians, perhaps we should be more willing to go into politics to influence how things are done. In our workplaces, especially if we have some kind of leadership role, are we honest and really looking for ways to make things better? Do we care for the people under our leadership? 

("Leadership gains authority and respect when the voiceless poor are treated fairly.") 

Solomon challenges us to be good leaders. Good leaders where? In politics, in business - even in our church, in our community, and in our homes.

"When good people run things, everyone is glad"

"A leader of good judgment gives stability"

Our song for today is Build My Life by Pat Barrett.