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When you read through the history of the kings of Israel and Judah, there are two consistently recurring themes for these leaders—
- He turned to God and the people put away their idols <or>
- He turned from God and the people turned to their idols
It’s true: As goes the leader, so go the people.
In my life, I’ve experienced that the good things that I do over-the-top are only moderately emulated by those around me. But the unhealthy things that I even slightly indulge in are adopted quickly by everyone else.
Godly leaders must be so aware of how their example impacts everyone around them, and they must fight to maintain biblical standards. When we miss the mark, we must be quick to admit our shortcoming, repent, and get back on track.
In Hosea 4:9, God warns that the people will follow the ungodly example of their leaders, which is why God’s punishment is often more severe for those leaders.
On the positive side, in Leviticus 9, Moses and Aaron demonstrate the leadership example of spending time in God’s presence and fully obeying everything God had revealed to them there. Then verse 23 it says that after they came out of His presence, God’s glory appeared to all the people. The positive example of the leaders led to huge blessings for all the people!
A mark of a godly leader is one who increasingly aware of the power of his example.
Leaders, let’s be first to go first in…
- …being in God’s presence
- …obeying God’s commands
- …repenting when we fall short
- …asking forgiveness of those who have seen our poor example
- …asking God to bless His people because of our good example
This is part 77 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.
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Craig T. Owens 