What Type of Leader?

I got the inspiration for this from the Independence sermon Pastor Sam Adeyemi preached 02/10/2016.

I am going to paraphrase God’s blueprint for selecting a leader from Deuteronomy 17:14-19 in the hope that we will select/elect worthy leaders in Nigeria very soon:

Deuteronomy 17: 14 When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say “I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me”

God knows that we all desire leadership; it’s this inherent desire that keeps us from living in total chaos.

Deuteronomy 17: 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you who is not your brother.

Many of us do not take the choice of leadership seriously; we’ll pray about whom to marry, which job to take but not about the people who lead us; God wants to be involved in our choices. He wants to help us choose. When He says you should choose from among your brethren, don’t think it’s license for blind tribalism or clannishness. Your brother or sister is the one who has compassion on you; your brother is the one who identifies with you. Your brother is the one who desires the greater good. Your brother is the one who understands your difficulties and seeks to help you. Your brother isn’t the man from the same village as you whose only ambition is to raid the country’s treasury, such a person is an enemy whose ambition must be thwarted!

When a leader's life is so far removed from the lives of the followers that there is no conscious effort at improving lives; when the leader is out of touch with the people then s/he is a 'foreigner' not a brother.

Deuteronomy 17: 16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you ‘You shall not return that way again’.

Horses in ancient times symbolized power, security and wealth; but a good leader should not use his position to multiply these for himself. A good leader is supposed to multiply power, security and wealth to his followers. He shall also not cause his people to ‘return to Egypt to multiply horses’. When the Bible talks about a return to Egypt, more often than not it’s in reference to retrogression. A return to Egypt presupposes a return to slavery, suffering and sin. A good leader moves his/her people forward not backward, a good leader doesn’t force followers into any form of slavery.

It is a form of slavery to pay taxes and not have access to good roads, sound health care, electricity etc. It is slavery to work for 30 years and not receive pensions in due course; it is slavery to work and go without pay for months on end whilst the leader is busy multiplying 'horses' for himself.

Deuteronomy 17: 17 neither shall he multiply wives for himself lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.
A leader should not be frivolous! Frivolity reduces the capacity for purposeful leadership; it turns away the heart from the important issues of governance. With frivolity comes greed for wealth. A leader shouldn’t be preoccupied with his/her whims and caprices. A heart that is ‘turned away’ is one that is distracted and unable to focus on the task at hand.

Leaders who are more interested in acquiring expensive toys,wives and enjoying the trappings of high office are frivolous and unfit for purpose.

Deuteronomy 17:18 -19 Also it shall be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful and to observe all the words of this law and these statutes.

Do our leaders even know what our constitution says? Are they erudite people who read, write and think? Do our leaders even obey the laws of the land? This verses tell us that we should elect leaders with capacity for:

• ·         Intellect/erudition
• ·         Introspection
• ·         Discipline
• ·         Respect for the rule of law

When the next election cycle comes along, please think about these verses because they are timeless and universally applicable. Let’s do away with frivolity, lawlessness and greed in high places.