Good leaders seem to know what steps to take into a bright future. But what enables them to know what to do? How do they differ from followers? Proverbs 2 tells us the key difference may be desire. We all must answer three great questions in life:
1. What do we want?
2. Why do we want it?
3. How badly do we want it?
Consider the phrases Proverbs 2 uses to talk about the passionate search for wisdom:
Proverbs 2 and 3 poses an apparent paradox in spiritual leadership. We are to get wisdom and understanding (2:1-5), yet we are not to lean on it apart from the Lord (3:5,6). Even good wisdom divorced from God can become a snare. So how are godly leaders to think?
Wisdom can be a leader's best friend, especially in times of decision. Suppose You find yourself in a large committee meeting in which a crucial decision must be made. The committee reaches an impasse and everything stops. Who will become the most influential person in that room? Answer: the one with the wisdom to draw a conclusion that not only works, but which receives the blessing of that committee.
Proverbs 1 describes wisdom as a woman crying out in the streets (v. 20). What a...
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Leaders who last do not merely react to their culture; they base their leadership on timeless and universal principles. They remain relevant because they marry cultural context to timeless truth. Proverbs 4 encourages leaders to become principle centered. Verses 20-27 teach us that God's principles give us three crucial tools.
How many leaders have ruined their lives and damaged the lives of others through immorality? Character has become a crucial issue today precisely because of the myriad (of) leaders in the political, business, and religious worlds who have fallen morally. No doubt spiritual warfare has played a big role in the tens of thousands of leaders who have failed. They fall partly because the enemy has targeted leaders for attack.
Leaders need to remember that they influence many others beyond...
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