THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP

PROCLAMATION

“The Spirit of The Lord spoke through me; His word was on my tongue.  The God of Israel spoke, The Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, a brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.’”  2 Samuel 23:2-4 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These are the last words of David which were inspired by The Lord God. (2 Samuel 23:1)  Here David acknowledges God, The Father, The God of Israel; of God, The Son, The Rock of Israel; and of God, The Holy Spirit, The Spirit of The Lord; and Their influence on his life and on words written in the psalms which he wrote.  He states that leaders, those who rule over people, must be just and righteous, and they must rule in the fear and admonition of God.  That kind of leader would be appreciated by the people as a beautiful morning is appreciated after the darkness of night.  They would also be fruitful and productive as the earth produces new grass when the sun shines after the rains.  Leaders are to be a blessing to those who are under them.

APPLICATION

We need to pray for our political, religious, and local leaders as some of them seem not to know The Word of God.  They seem more concerned with maintaining their positions than they are with benefiting the people whom they serve.  If you are in a position of leadership, if you lead, guide, direct, teach, or influence people, make sure that you do so in a manner which is consistent with The Word of God.  We need to be just and righteous with those whose lives we influence.  We can also lead others by example with the life that we live.  If we mislead a child of God or cause one of them to stumble and fall into sin, The Lord God will not be pleased with us. (Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42, and Luke 17:2)  Lead and live by The Word of God.