LEADERSHIP RETHINK June 1, 2020

From today’s devotional on the book of 2 Samuel chapter 22, we learn of one ruler who led with GOD’s wisdom and love—Israel’s King David.  He started off by acknowledging that without GOD, he will never be victorious against his enemies and against all the problems that beset his reign.  He praised GOD and wrote down that in faith and hope, he always calls out to Him, Who saves him from all his troubles.

I am reminded of the state of leadership the world has today.  Most of our rulers today are brilliant, charismatic, and influential.  Many of them are gifted with words, so that people are swept up in their campaign speeches and vote them into office almost unanimously, with some winning by landslide margins.  But as far as the East is from the West, so too is the great disparity between the quality of their leadership.  Some leaders are people persons; some development-oriented (often translated as, business and profit-inclined); some are tough talkers; some are excellent orators.  Some act like they are the Messiah to their country’s poverty and misery; while some act like spoiled brats and think that with their constant pouting they look cute, when in fact they only look more ignorant and clueless--with the unruly mop of sheer white wig.  There are leaders who over-promise and under-deliver; leaders who act like celebrities coming up with their own calendar spreads showing their muscles, abs and fashion sense; and leaders who act and look like sages and holy men (but in truth, not really).

But I wonder how many of them acknowledge GOD in the positions they are holding?  It is understandable that with this pandemic, everybody is scared and anxious, depressed and desperate due to the illness and the loss of jobs; but would there have been riots and protests if the leaders we have now realize that as leaders, they are not owners of the people and their properties but mere guides and stewards?  Would the world have been a healthier place if machismo had just given an inch to the wisdom and talents of women in the home, in the workplace, in decision-making, and even in the care and protection of their own bodies and minds and that of their children?  (I’m saying this in front of Ms. Malala Yousafzai’s picture from a Citibank ad which has this saying, “If one girl with an education can change the world, what can 130 million do?”)

Most of the world choose their leaders, others have their leaders appointed and chosen for them.  But maybe it is time we think about the people we want to lead us, and the people we want to entrust the future of our children to.

The last verse of chapter 22 says that: “He (GOD) is the tower of salvation for His king: and shows mercy to His anointed, unto David, and to his seed forevermore.”  Indeed, we learn that a leader’s worth is not only measured by his promises and his deliveries, but also by the quality of leadership his own children manifests.

Everyone of us are actually called to be leaders—of our families, our friends, our organizations.  If we want to grab hold of the better future we dream of, it is time we take up the challenge and evaluate the kind of leadership we are doing.  Have we acknowledged GOD for the work He is doing in us? And, do we ask Him for and let Him give us wisdom and guidance, and love, to lead the people He has entrusted to our care?