Leadership Is Influence

Daily Reading:  2 Kings 10

But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin. In those days the Lord began to cut off parts of Israel. (2 Kings 10.31-32a)

Devotional Thought: Jehu was a leader, but tragically...

·       He was not careful.  To be careful means to be full of care.  Jehu began his leadership caring about the people he led, but somewhere along the line he began to focus on himself.  The Apostle Paul warned us about being more concerned about our own needs than the needs of those we influence (Romans 14-15, 1 Corinthians 8, and Philippians 2).

·       He did not walk in the law of the Lord.  Jehu started with zeal for the Lord. That was part of what drove him to become a leader.  That zeal waned, however, when he moved from military leadership (to which he was inclined) to spiritual leadership (to which he was not inclined).  When the will of God runs contrary to our natural inclinations, our personal preferences and our comfort zones, do we choose God's way?

·       He was not whole-hearted.  Jehu wanted God to use him, but his heart was not fully in it.  Like many kings before and after him, he was double-minded, wanting his way and God's way.  Centuries later, the Apostle James would warn us that "a double minded man [is] unstable in all his ways" (James 1.8)

·       He did not turn from sin.  What was the sin that captured Jehu's heart?  The golden calves of Jeroboam, an earlier leader who did not rely on God but upon his own wisdom.  He made idols out of his methods.

What happened to Jehu's leadership?  He lost influence and power.  The nation declined.  People suffered.

John Maxwell says that "Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less."  All of us are leaders because all of us have some measure of influence.  What happens through your leadership?

Prayer: Lord, help me to be careful to walk in your ways with all my heart.  I turn from sin so that my influence will not be diminished.  In the name of Jesus, the greatest Influencer of history, I pray.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: 16.1-6

1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

2 I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.

5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.