"In speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. "
1 Timothy 4:12
SHOWING THE WAY
Read It: Nehemiah 5:14-16
There never seem to be enough good leaders to go around. Leaders can't take a community any higher morally or ethically than they've been themselves, just as a pastor can't take a church higher spiritually than he's gone himself. That's why studying the life and accomplishments of Nehemiah is like a breath of fresh air. Today and tomorrow we'll be wrapping up our study in how to transform culture, and we're stopping at just the right spot-with the portrait of a godly leader. Fix this picture in your mind, because we need to find a lot more Nehemiahs today. After Nehemiah made the nobles and rulers shape up in the way they treated their fellow Jews who were in need, someone could have asked, "Hey, what about you, Nehemiah? Do you practice what you preach?" According to these concluding verses in chapter 5, the answer was yes. Nehemiah set a great example for his people. He looked over his twelve-year year governorship and concluded that he had honored his God. Notice what he did and did not do. First, unlike his predecessors, Nehemiah did not allow power or wealth to corrupt him, because he feared the Lord. That tells me you can be a Christian politician. You can serve in the government and still fear the Lord. You can be in business, law, medicine, and fear the Lord. You can be anything and honor God.
Nehemiah knew that power and wealth can corrupt. So rather than lounging in the governor's mansion and enjoying all the "perks" of office, he set himself to work on the wall of Jerusalem. He did not tell other folk to do what he was not willing to do. He led by example. We need leaders ers today who set the example. I don't mean being perfect, but making the effort to do it right and being open to correction when they fail. People at my church will tell you the senior pastor isn't perfect. I fail and make mistakes. The issue isn't whether I sin, but whether I'm setting the example I ought to set and being accountable for my actions. Think About It You're a leader whether you know it or not. Someone is watching you. What kind of example are you setting?
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