Articles
Great Leaders Go First
Great Leaders Go First
There’s nothing worse than a leader who asks you to do something they’d never do. In middle school, I had a soccer coach who sat in the shade while we ran laps in the Florida heat. The extent of his exertion was lifting a whistle to his mouth. When Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their terrible leadership, He said, “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.” (Matthew 23:4). When great leaders ask you to do something, they go first.
Nehemiah was appointed governor by the king of Persia and could have easily sat in the shade blowing his whistle while he made the Jews his slaves. Instead, he was on the front lines! When the enemies mocked their work, Nehemiah used collective pronouns like “we” and “us.” “I answered and said to them, ‘The God of Heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build…’” (Neh. 2:20). Even before he urged them to build, the Jews saw Nehemiah’s sacrifice! He gave up his position in the king’s palace and made a 5-month trip from Susa just to be there! When he asked them to sacrifice to build the wall, he went first!
What’s more, as a Persian satrap he could have taken tax money from his brethren, but he refused! “The former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver…But I did not do so because of the fear of God.” (Neh. 5:15). So when Nehemiah demanded that his brethren not take advantage of each other financially, he went first! When he asked them, “Should you not walk in the fear of our God?” (5:9), he feared God first! When the enemies threatened to kill Nehemiah, he asked “Should a man like me flee?” (6:11). How could he tell the people to stand their ground while he went to hide? Nehemiah stood his ground first! Before he asked his people to do anything, he’d go first! That’s what great leaders do.
Of course, there is no greater leader than Jesus. When He says things like, “Take up your cross daily and follow Me,” (Matthew 16:24), “Wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14), and “Love one another,” (John 15:12), He went first. When you tell your kids to read their Bibles and pray, do they see you going first? When you try to motivate them to be hard workers, do they see you working hard? If we correct a friend or fellow Christian’s behavior and encourage them to change, are we going first? It’s so much easier to sit in the shade and try to lead by blowing whistles, but most people won’t follow and those who do won’t follow for long. Great leaders put the whistle down, leave the shade, and run those laps alongside their people.
