Poor leader

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Three Characteristics of a Poor Leader

1 Kings 1:9

"And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by Enrogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants:"

We often hear and read about the characteristics of great leaders, but what are the characteristics of a poor leader? Just as it is important to be cognizant of what good leader is, it is also important for us to learn to identify those who would be poor leaders. Many times in our lives we must choose someone to be our leader. When you choose a pastor, you are choosing a leader. When you choose a school for your children, you are choosing a leader. In both of these cases, and in many instances, when we must choose a leader it would be good to identify their characteristics before making our choice.

The verse above shows us the characteristics of a poor leader. Adonijah, though he was a good man, was a very poor leader. Just because someone is a good man does not make him a good leader. When you look at his life, you find a man who desired to fill his dad's throne. However, though he desired that position, he was the wrong man to fill the position. When you study Adonijah's life there are three things we see that made him a poor leader.

First, he was filled with pride. In verse 5, we find that the Scriptures say that he exalted himself. The only reason why someone would try to exalt himself is because they are filled with pride. As an older pastor once told me, "Don't worry about promoting yourself because God knows your name and address. If God wants to exalt you, then He knows where to find you." If you are a leader, don't let your pride cause you to exalt yourself. You will never become a great leader by pushing yourself. Likewise, when choosing someone to be your leader, don't choose someone who constantly promotes themselves. If a preacher is always talking about what he has done, or talks about how great he is, then this is the type of man you don't want to be your pastor. You want a pastor who promotes God and not himself. Poor leaders are filled with pride and will exalt themselves.

Second, Adonijah forsook the pattern of older godly men. Instead of going to Nathan for direction, Adonijah went to Joab. Joab was not the godliest of men. A poor leader is one who does not go to the older godly men for counsel and patterns to follow. Instead they look to the present generation to determine their direction. When choosing a pastor, don't choose one who talks negatively about men from the past. Don't choose a pastor who follows a younger generation more than he follows the older generation. Poor leaders look to their peers for direction, while great leaders look to the past for their direction.

Third, Adonijah was a wasteful man. Verse 9 tells us that Adonijah slew sheep and oxen in abundance. This was a wasteful act. Poor leaders are wasteful with what they have. They're wasteful with their money. They're wasteful with their time. They are wasteful with their relationships. Poor leaders spend what they have instead of saving what they have. Be careful about placing yourself under someone who is wasteful. If they will waste what they have, then they will have no problem wasting your time, money and life.

Be careful with whom you choose to be your leader. Whomever you choose to be your leader will eventually determine your direction in life. Your leaders will determine what your children will eventually become. Your leaders will determine what kind Christian you will be later on in life. When choosing a leader, be careful that the ones whom you choose to follow do not carry these three characteristics of Adonijah. Choose to follow people who are humble, choose right associations and are frugal with what they have. By choosing the right leader you give your future a better chance to be successful and happy.

Zeal

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Uncontrolled Zeal

1 Samuel 21:2

"And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)"

The story from the verse above first takes place when Joshua led Israel to conquer the land of Canaan. After Joshua conquered Jericho and Ai, the Gibeonites knew that they would be destroyed because they were no match for God and Israel. The plan they contrived was to pretend that they were from a far country. They put on old clothes, brought moldy bread, and told Joshua that they had taken a long journey and wanted to make a treaty with Israel. Joshua unwisely made this treaty and later realized he had made a big mistake. God honored the treaty, and the Gibeonites were not to be destroyed when Israel invaded the land of Canaan.

Though the Scriptures do not tell us the exact story, it seems that Saul in his zeal tried to destroy the Gibeonites. In his zeal, he ignored a treaty that even God honored. According to the verse above, Saul had slain several of the Gibeonites in one of the battles while he was a young king. Though in his zeal Saul desired to honor the Lord, it led to sin, and the payment of that sin brought famine in the days when David was king.

This story shows us the importance of controlling our zeal with truth. We certainly need people who have a zeal for the LORD. In present day Christianity it seems that many Christians have a greater zeal for the world than they do for the LORD. However, we need some Christians who have a zeal for God. We need Christians with a zeal to fight sin. We need Christians with a zeal to lead people to Jesus Christ. We need Christians with a zeal to obey God's Word. We need Christians with a zeal to fulfill their obligations in the church. We need Christians who are zealous in their hatred of sin. The fact is, it would be great if every church had people who were filled with zeal.

However, zeal must be tempered with truth. If zeal is not tempered with truth, then zeal will lead to sin. I have watched men of God compromise truth because of their zeal to see souls saved. I have watched young Christians compromise the principle of separation for the sake of trying to get someone to church. In many cases, these Christians had a sincere desire. However, their sincere desire was not tempered by truth. If truth does not temper zeal, then zeal will lead to compromise.

Truth should always be the guiding factor in every Christian's life. The truth that I am talking about is the Word of God. The Word of God must be the guide that determines your actions. When the Word of God guides zeal, then zeal can accomplish great things for God. Yet, when zeal runs rampant without being tempered by the Word of God, then zeal will eventually lead to sin.

Christian, God wants you to be zealous for Him, but be sure that your zeal for God is tempered by His Word. Don't let zeal go unchecked, rather let the Word of God be the reins that pulls your zeal back when it will lead to sin or compromise. Zeal is a powerful tool that can be used by God, but uncontrolled zeal will lead you to sin. Be sure that with everything you do you allow the Word of God to be the guiding factor that determines whether or not you should do something.

Winning

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Winning Over the Heart

2 Samuel 15:6

"And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel."

As wicked as Absalom's disloyalty was to his father, we can still learn from his actions. The verse above says, "...so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel." Absalom stole the hearts of Israel so that he could take over the throne of Israel. Certainly he desired their hearts for the wrong purpose.

However, Proverbs 23:26 says, "My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways." You will notice that the father in Proverbs wanted the heart of his son so that he could get his son to follow whatever he asked him to do. Just like Absalom stole the hearts of the people, and the father wanted the heart of his son, likewise, every parent needs the heart of their child. Moreover, every leader also needs the heart of their follower. When you gain the heart of those you lead, then you can lead them in the way that God wants them to go. As I study this story, I find there are four things that Absalom did to win the people's hearts that you need to do to win the hearts of those whom you lead.

First, you must be among the people. Verse 2 says, "And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate:..." Absalom knew that if he spent time with the people, he would eventually be able to win their hearts. Every parent and leader needs to be around those whose hearts they want to win. A parent who is never with their child will not have the heart of their child. A pastor who's never with his people will never win the hearts of his people. A leader who is not with their followers will not win their hearts. No matter what your situation is, if you're going to win the hearts of those you lead,  then you must spend time with them.

Second, you must not act like you're above them. Absalom understood that he must live at the same level of the people. Too many leaders live above their people which only drives a wedge between them. As a leader, you need to live at the same level of your people so that you can win their heart over to you.

Third, help them with their problems. Absalom helped the people with their problems by helping them settle controversies they had with people and with life. Likewise, if you're going to win the hearts of your people, then you must be there to help them with their problems. One of the reasons why God allows followers to have problems is so that leaders can win their heart. The sad fact is too many leaders are absent when their followers have problems. If you want to win the heart of your followers, then you need to be there for them during their problems. Be there for them by listening to them. Sometimes all people need is someone who has a listening ear. Don't get so busy with your daily schedule that you don't have time to listen.

Fourth, have a dream with the people. Absalom had a dream with the people that they could work together to solve problems. You will notice that I did not say have a dream for the person, but have a dream with them. You and your followers must have dreams together. When you have a dream together, then you'll work together. When you work together, then you'll win their hearts.

Let Absalom's actions to gain the hearts of the people for a disloyal purpose be a lesson for you to gain the hearts of those whom you lead. Though he wanted their hearts to do wrong, you can try to gain the hearts of those you lead so that you can help them to become what God wants them to be.

Guilt

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What to Do With Guilt

2 Samuel 11:6

"And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David."

The principal of cause and effect applies to everything in life. No matter how hard you try to get away from this principle it is still there. For instance, if you press down the accelerator pedal in your car, it will go faster. If you let up on the accelerator pedal, then the car will slow down. The cause is the accelerator pedal, and the affect is going faster or slower. Again, if you charge items to your credit card, then the effect will be that your bills will be greater. If you want your bills to be lower, then you must stop charging to your credit card. The cause and effect applies to your finances. Likewise, if you turn a light switch on, the darkness will immediately go away. The cause is the light switch and the effect is darkness going away.

Likewise sin has its after effects. David figured out that sin has after effects once it was too late. One of the effects of sin is guilt. We read in the verse above that David had to deal with guilt. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, and the effect of the sin was guilt entered into his heart. Instead of dealing with his guilt in the proper way, he added to his sin by having Bathsheba's husband killed. David dealt with his guilt in the wrong way.

There are two things you can do with guilt. The first thing you can do with guilt is to add to your sin by trying to cover it up. That is what David did. When you try to deal with guilt by covering up sin, you will only add to its effects in the future. When you try to cover up your sin, this will cause you to have more guilt and consequences. You cannot add to sin without having the effect of guilt and consequences to become greater. That is why you must not allow yourself to deal with guilt by trying to cover up sin. If you deal with guilt by covering up sin, you only make your guilt worse.

The second thing you could do with your guilt is to get rid of your sin. This is the best way to deal with guilt. When you get rid of sin, then you get rid of guilt and its consequences. Yes, you may have to deal with the payment of sin for some time, but eventually its consequences will end if you don't continue to add to your sin. David added to his sin, and the result was that he paid for it the rest of his life.

So what are you going to do with your guilt? What you do with your sin will determine how long you will deal with its affects. You can let your guilt continue to cause you to cover up your sin, or you could deal with it immediately by getting rid of sin. What you do with guilt will ultimately determine how happy your life will be. Don't allow sin to take away the joy of life. The best way to deal with guilt is to get rid of the cause of that guilt.

If you have something that's causing guilt, get rid of it today. The principle of cause and effect applies to your life, and especially to sin. The cause of guilt is sin, and what you do with guilt will determine its effects. Don't let guilt follow you for the rest of your life because of your lack of dealing with its cause. Deal with guilt's cause today, and let guilt become a thing of the past.

Remembering

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Remembering the Fallen

2 Samuel 1:17

"And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son:"

David experienced one of the tragedies that many Christians will experience at some time in their life. That tragedy was when Saul's sin eventually took his life. After Saul's death, a young man came to David thinking to encourage him about the battle. He told David how Saul had died and how he had a part in it. This young man thought it was good news that Saul died. However, David responded properly when hearing that Saul had passed away. David knew that a great man had fallen, and he wanted to remember the fallen in a proper way.

At some time in your life you will face the unfortunate tragedy of someone succumbing to sin. When you hear of someone falling into sin, having the proper response is very important for the recovery of the fallen. Our goal should be to recover the fallen. However, if we have the wrong response to the fallen, then we cannot help them. Let me give you four thoughts on how you should remember those who have fallen into sin.

First, don't rejoice. You will notice in the verse above that David lamented over Saul's death. This was not a time of rejoicing when Saul was killed, but this was a time to weep and mourn over someone's death whom God used. Likewise, when you hear that someone has fallen, your response should be one of remorse. You should never rejoice when someone has fallen even if that person tried to hurt you. Many times when someone is trying to hurt you it is because of their sin. Therefore, when they have fallen you need to make sure that your response is never a joyful one

Second, consider yourself when you hear of someone falling. Galatians 61 says, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." When you hear someone fell, you need to look at yourself and make sure there's no sin that can destroy you. When you hear someone fell into sin, it should be a reminder to take inventory of your Christian life to make sure there's nothing that can bring you down.

Third, remember the good of the one who has fallen. There is something good that the fallen one has done. Too many times we want to talk about the bad that caused them to, and this does nothing for you or them. Instead of looking at all the bad that their sin caused them to do, you need to look at their life and see the good that came from their years of serving God. There is something good in everyone that you can remember. You can either choose to look at the negative and remember them for the bad that they have done, or you can remember them for the good influences they had in your life and in others.

Fourth, attempt to recover the fallen. When you hear that someone has fallen, your goal should be to restore them back to usefulness. Instead of gossiping about how someone has fallen into sin, use your energies to try to restore them back to usefulness. They still have many years that God can use them. Though they may have scars that they will have to deal with for the rest of the life, just because they've fallen does not mean that God cannot use them again in the future. Always remember that if it was you who had fallen, that you would want someone to help you to recover.

Be that person who remembers the fallen in the right way. If you will remember the fallen in a right way, then you have a greater chance of restoring them from the destruction that sin caused in their life.