bad leaders – Moment to Moment (Bible blog)

What does it mean to be a leader? I think that we can get some clues from this passage.

Agur writes,

There are three things that are stately in their stride,
four that move with stately bearing:
a lion, mighty among beasts,
who retreats before nothing;
a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
and a king with his army around him. (Proverbs 30:29–31)

To be a leader is to be like a lion which always faces whatever challenges confront it.

Some people walk confidently about…until something goes wrong. At which point they hastily retreat and are quick to cede their authority and leadership to another.

A true leader, however, walks with confidence. Why? Because they know that God is with them.

You see this in Saul and David.

When Goliath challenged the armies of Israel, saying to send their best man to face him, everyone looked to Saul because number one, he was their king, and number two, he was the biggest of all the Israelites.

What did Saul do? He hid in his palace and instead offered a reward to anyone who would take his responsibility and fight this giant.

David, on the other hand, rose up and took on the giant. What was his reasoning?

The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine (1 Samuel 17:37).

And because God was with him, he took down Goliath.

A leader is alert and prepared for action.

What in the world does a strutting rooster have to do with being alert and prepared for action, you ask?

Nothing that I can think of, but then again, the Hebrew words translated “strutting rooster” are not so clearly translated.

In other words, no one really knows what they mean. Literally, they mean “one girt about the loins.”

Some commentators have said it perhaps means “a man dressed in armor” while others have said it was a warhorse dressed for battle.

There are many possible translations people have put forth. With the different translations, you can come up with different applications.

But as I look at the literal meaning, it reminds me of Peter’s words when he said,

Therefore, prepare your minds for action (literally, “gird the loins of your mind”); be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:13)

Knowing that Christ is coming back, we need to always be prepared as leaders to do the things he has called us to do.

A leader leads.

I suppose that should be self-evident. But as a he-goat will always go before the flock, so should leaders, taking them in the direction that God himself is leading them.

A leader has people that are willing to follow.

Another seemingly self-evident fact, but one that people don’t always think about.

My pastor in Hawaii always said, “I can tell if a person is a leader if people follow them. They may not think of themselves as leaders. They may not feel qualified. But they are leaders.”

On the other hand, you can’t consider yourself a leader if no one is willing to follow you.

But if you have followers committed to you, and willing to go to battle with you as an army with a king, you can accomplish great things.

But Agur warns us there are those that would exalt themselves and thus play the fool. Who look down on others and abuse their power.

These are not leaders. Or at least they won’t be leaders for long, because by their actions, they will stir up anger and strife, and all their would-be followers will soon disappear.

How about you? What kind of leader are you?

What God calls a bad leader

All of us have known people that were bad leaders. People who should never have been put in that position. And unfortunately, Israel had their share of bad leaders as well.

In this passage, God calls these leaders out, saying,

Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep.

They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough.

They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain.

“Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.” (Isaiah 56:9–12)

What’s a bad leader?

They are blind.

They can’t see what’s going on around them. They can’t see the needs of the people around them. And they can’t see the trouble that is lying ahead. When it comes, they are totally caught by surprise.

They lack knowledge and understanding.

How many times have you met leaders who don’t know what they’re doing? Or who show no wisdom in the things they do?

They may try to do what’s right, but they’ve never sought or obtained the knowledge and wisdom they need to lead. And so time and again, they make foolish decisions in their lives.

They are mute when trouble comes.

When they see trouble coming, they don’t sound the alarm. They take no action to deal with the problem. Instead, they just ignore it, hoping in vain that things get better.

They’re lazy, living only for themselves.

Instead of serving others, they expect others to serve them. Instead of looking out for others’ needs, they simply look out for their own. And though they are well-fed and satisfied, those under them go hungry.

It’s easy to criticize the leaders in our lives, but how about you? What kind of leader are you? To your family? To your children? At your work? In your church? To the people who look up to you?

Are you a good leader? What would God say to you?