Good Leaders Pay More Attention To Their Followers
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(23) Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; (24) for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations. (25) When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in, (26) the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field.’ (Proverbs 27:23-26)
When we look for a leader, whether it is the president of the local Red Hat Quilting Society or the next President of the United States, we want someone who will best represent us. Who will provide the opportunities for us to be able to survive and perhaps thrive in the environment that we’re in, or give us inspiration to move forward in difficult circumstances? The qualities of leadership are the same regardless of the organization they represent, though the circumstances may differ (obviously leading a group through a ‘global shortage of blue tweed thread’ is less challenging than leading a nation at the ‘cusp of global thermonuclear war’).
A leader should be one who understands that the people he leads are necessary to his or her success. A corporation with a good leader can endure hardships, who looks at the overall long-term health of the company over the short-term effects of themselves. We often hear of companies going bankrupt and thousands getting laid off while the CEO, resigning ‘for the good of the company’, gains a golden parachute worth millions of dollars, money that could have staved off the bankruptcy and at least some of those loss of those jobs. Those success stories that we don’t often hear about are those CEOs who refuse to take their salaries in order to keep the company viable and save the jobs of people who, given time, can turn the fortunes of the company around.
It is a good leader who knows without those working under them, there is nothing to lead. The shepherd described in Proverbs 27 understands he needs to keep his sheep healthy and safe, and allow them to grow and multiply. In return, the healthy and well-kept sheep provide him with wool to wear and sell, and food to eat and sell. He protects that which protects his well-being. It is not without work and effort, but it pays off in the end.
The short-term may be difficult; rocky, mountainous terrain filled with predators may need to be crossed to get to the most fertile ground for the sheep to eat and be sheltered. Those predators may need to be fought off, a lame sheep may get devoured allowing the rest of the flock to move over the mountain, though the shepherd tries to rescue it. The shepherd serves his sheep, for them in turn to serve him.
In our current situation within the US, we need to look for a leader who will serve us, setting up an environment to allow our long-term success. It may require short-term pain to gain this long-term success. Fortunately for the Christian, we have an example of such a leader, the Great Shepherd who leads His flock through the valley of the shadow of death to lead us to greener pastures, Jesus. If we want a good leader, we need to select that leader who best represents Jesus and His precepts. Jesus sacrificed Himself to serve those who follow Him, to provide us that pathway to the green pastures that comprise Heaven.
His leadership is the example, the Bible is the rulebook on how to lead. Jesus understands to gather people to Him to worship Him and the Father, He provides us with a better life, a better opportunity with Him than without Him. His provision of that better, eternal life in turn provides Him undying love of those who worship Him, and will worship and praise Him forever. For our earthly leader, we do not need, nor should, worship that leader as their leadership will not endure and they will in some form or fashion fail us. But that leader, in being good to the people, will be rewarded with a reciprocal level of goodness and respect. The one who best follows Jesus is the one who will be given that most reciprocal love and respect. But know that an earthly leader will always fall short
