Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. | 1 Peter 2.13-17
This Sunday, our sermon addressed the issue of authority and leadership. Specifically, coming from 1 Timothy 2.1-4, and 1 Peter 2.13-17, we looked at how authority comes from God and should be prayed for and honored, even as we disagree with it and try to change it. This is a difficult dichotomy, as it forces us to continue to hold a high view of authority, even as we watch it abused. I think that GK Chesterton was getting to the same thing when he said:
We must hate the world enough to change it, and yet love the world enough to think it worth changing.
GK Chesterton
The moment we give up on something that God made good, we reject the best, in order to avoid the suffering and abuse that comes from the worst. The difficult thing is that many have experienced bad leadership. Over the year, I have walked with numerous people trying to recover from the results of authorities in their life who did not lead well. I am convinced that there are far too many people in positions of power who are playing games rather than actually leading, and people are being hurt by this.
All leadership on earth with will be tainted by sin, but a statement like that leaves many ready to reject it outright. We need to be reminded of what good leadership is, both so that we know how to lead well when we are given authority and what to pray for in those who lead us. This week I am going to blog on 5 actions that all leaders should strive for and that we should pray for in those in authority over us. These are not my ideas, but are how leadership is modeled in the Bible, especially in the person and work of Jesus Christ. I realize that many who lead are not Christians, but the standard that God designed into the world, the natural order, is still bearing on all creation. All leaders would be wise to heed this wise counsel.
The 5 aspects of leadership I am going to lay out sound very simple, but as we will see, these are a challenge for even the most seasoned leader:
#1 | Leaders follow (and are followed)
#2 | Leaders do what is right
#3 | Leaders care about others
#4 | Leaders burden responsibility
#5 | Leaders make leaders