Today we are looking at something that is very interesting and I want you to be attentive to it. We are considering The 6 Infallible Qualities of Righteous Leadership. I am sure you understand what leadership mean. Now, when you begin to add the word "righteous" to it, it adds some qualifications to it. So, it is no longer the normal leadership or the one that is available on every street or in every society or every segment around you. It is a unique leadership and at such, it is worthy of our consideration today. You know, even though everybody could be doing something does not make that thing right. The fact that you can find a particular leadership in your father or in your community or even in your country, does not make it the best kind of leadership.
Listen To Podcast: THE 6 INFALLIBLE QUALITIES OF RIGHTEOUS LEADERSHIP
You see, apart from righteous leadership, the other kind of leadership that we have is unrighteous leadership or wicked leadership or tyrannical or dictatorial leadership or other kinds of leadership that has little or nothing to do with your own growth or the growth and effectiveness of the people. I am sure you still remember that without the people, leadership has little or no significance. There would be no need for a leader, whether a man or a woman, if there is no man or no woman to be led. It is because there are people that require leadership that we have people raised up or persons raised up at such a time as the people could be for leadership, for direction. People are looking for vision. You know where the Bible says without vision, the people cast off restraints. So, that the people don't go wild, there is a need for leadership on them. Yet like Jesus said, the rulers of the gentiles, the leaders of the Gentiles, they lord it over them. They oppress them, they manipulate them. But it shall not be so among you. He said anyone that wants to be the greatest among you, let him be the servant of all of you. So, Jesus gave us a new model of leadership different from what we find in Russia, we find in China and perhaps, even in your own country or my country Nigeria. Jesus gave us an example of servant leadership.
But today we are considering The 6 Infallible Qualities of Righteous Leadership and every time we see these qualities, we quickly tell ourselves that this is righteous leadership. This is not an unrighteous or this is not leadership that wants to take advantage of the people. But it is a righteous leadership. So, what are The Six Infallible Qualities of Righteous Leadership that we must consider today? Let me quickly go to them, and I want us to go to the book of Psalms together; Psalms 23 and I will read the verses there so that we can pick the qualities of servant leadership as we observe David, who is perhaps the greatest king in Israel who submitted to the leadership of God and then got what we could call righteous leadership from God.
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
Psalms 23:1-6
Now, if you notice the Bible passage above, you will realize that David was referring to God as his shepherd. At that moment, David was the king of Israel and so, he was supposed to be the king or a leader over a people. But yet, he acknowledged that God was his leader. So, if we look at certain statements made by David about his leader, whom we know to be God, then we ourselves could learn certain lessons towards us becoming righteous leaders like God who imparted David with righteous leadership. And so, let us quickly go to verse one so that we can see the first quality of righteous leadership. Verse 1-2 says:
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
#1. PROVISION VIA CREATION OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH & PROFITABILITY
The first thing is very clear: The Lord is my shepherd. Because the Lord is my shepherd, the leader of my life, I will not want. Why will I not want? Because He makes me to lie down in green pastures. On my own I would not have recognized the green pastures or actually be able to get close or near the green pastures. But because I have submitted to the leader, God over my life, He has made it possible for me. So, He makes the green pasture such a place I could find survival or sustenance for myself. So, what is the first quality of righteous leadership? It is provision, and that provision is through creation of opportunities for growth and profitability.
You see, righteous leaders don't just have titles, they actually carry out the task that has been given to them. As David was submissive to God who was his shepherd, God also ensured the provision of David. So, we could see that a quality was found in God which was relevant in the life of David, and that was provision. He said "the Lord is my Shepherd; therefore, I will not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures." I am sure you are aware that many people relocate from their country to different parts of the world in search for greener pastures. When this happens, what they are doing is that they are looking for a newer means of livelihood; they are looking for higher standard of living.
So, David said, as for me, the king over Israel; I have been provided for by God simply because the Lord has created platforms for me, the Lord has created opportunities for me to grow and to profit. And so, we could see that God was a leader who made provision or opportunities for provision available to the people that He leads. And so, if you want to become a righteous leader, you must learn that crucial lesson so that you can become not just a leader by name, but a leader by responsibility.
#2. CALM OR QUIET INFLUENCE
The second thing we note and we must also note is in that verse 2. It says:
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
"He leads me." These are the things that I have little or nothing to do about it. I simply submit, I simply follow, then I found myself being led beside still waters. What does that tell us? The second quality of righteous leadership is quiet influence. This is not a noisy influence, this is not a shouting influence, this is not a screaming influence, it is a quiet influence. Righteous leaders don't coerce people, they don't force people; they don't threaten people, they influence the people they lead. He says "He leads me beside the still waters." If God who was leading him was a noisy God; leading him in such a ruthless and cruelsome manner; would he be led beside a still water? A still water is a calm water. So, that shows the kind of influence upon his life. It was a calm influence, it was a quiet influence. Righteous leaders don't force their way in on the people, they enforce obedience calmly, quietly.
#3. CONNECT AT PERSONAL (DEEPER) LEVELS
So that is important and I want you to note that. Verse 3 shows us that third quality of righteous leadership. It says: "He restores my soul;" It is not something that He has done in the past, or what He will do in the future. It is what He does regularly. " He restores my soul;" I am sure you are aware that it has been said that man is a tripartite being. He is a spirit, he has a soul and he dwells in a body. And so, among the three components of any human being, the only one that is visible is the body, yet, that is not the only part of man. So, a man has soul and he dwells in a body.
Beyond you meeting the physical needs of your people, righteous leadership will demand that you are able to connect with your people at deeper levels, at their core, you must be able to connect. So, the third quality of righteous leadership is the ability to connect at personal levels with the people. Ability to connect with the people at their will, their mind and their emotion. It is beyond just having what is called emotional intelligence; you must be able to connect with people holistically at deeper level so that you are able to meet them at the level of their real needs. You know, people can put on masks and give you impressions that they are okay and that everything is fine. But in reality, things aren't just fine for them. So, a righteous leader is not one that is just looking at the surface. He is the type that looks beyond the physical facade of people; he understands why people are looking the way they are looking, or thinking the way people are thinking; he understands the motives and the drive behind a person's cries, moodiness and excitement.
A righteous must be able to know and recognize so that he will be able to connect with people so that more people will benefit from your influence on them. So that is important for us to learn. And if you also notice, it says:
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Another word for "path" is ways of righteousness. Another word for "Ways of righteousness" is the Principles of righteousness; the laws of righteousness. He leads me in the paths of righteousness says David. He shows me a pattern of effective living through His own life. By observing his life, I am able to know how best to live my life. He is able to connect with men transparently and openly. I am not confused about the kind of man or the kind of woman I am following, I know Him, I can see His principles. I can see the things He stands for, I know Him. I am not confused about my leader. I can see Him. And my goal is also to become like the one that I see. And so, it is important that you know that being able to connect with your people at personal levels will help them to be able to see who you are and pattern their lives after you.
#4. COACHING & MENTORING (Invisible Presence In Practice)
The fourth point is in verse 4. It says:
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
There is something that I want you to notice there. It says "Though I walk through", showing that it me that is doing the walking through. It is me that is exercising my discretion and judgment. But notice what he said further. He said "I will fear no evil." And that is the end of it. But what is the reason for this? It says: "for you are with me." That is the reason. The question is: can the one who was with him be seen physically with him? No! So that is what we call invisible presence in practice. One thing that you must learn from that is when it says "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." You are with me. I am the one walking in the valley of the shadow of death and I will fear no evil. But the secret of my confidence is because you are with me. People can't see you physically with me but you are with me.
How are you with me? Your rod and your staff they comfort me. So, what does the rod and the staff represent? And that takes us to the fourth quality of righteous leadership, which is coaching and mentoring. Righteous leaders don't just direct or lead the people when they are there. They are able to lead and influence a people, such that even when they are not physically present with the people, the things that they have impacted on their people becomes a guide over them. David said I walk through the valley of the shadow of death yet, I will fear no evil. What is the reason? You are with me. My friends and my foes cannot see you physically with me, but one thing they don't know is that the things that you have taught me when you were coaching me, the things you have shown me when you were mentoring me, they comfort me.
They comfort me in my troubles and so I am able to have faith in you and I am able to have victories in my activities. I am able to get results. So, every time you are thinking about righteous leadership, you must be thinking about coaching and mentoring. A righteous leader must be able to coach his people and must be able to mentor them as well. Whether you are a man or a woman, once you are a righteous leader, you must not be too careful to coach your people understanding that you must connect with them at personal levels and then you must coach them. Knowing fully well that when you are no longer physically with them, your coaching and your mentoring over them will remain with them and will become their comfort and their assurance in the face of threats and oppositions.
#5. SUCCESSION PLANNING
Let us see the fifth quality of righteous leadership which can be found in verse 5. Psalms 23:5, it says:
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
This is absolutely important. Righteous leaders don't just coach or mentor their people. They also do something that many leaders don't do. They plan their succession. They plan the people that will replace them. They plan the people that will take their place at the table. You see, great politicians, great leaders, even great church leaders; are fond at lingering at the table even till death do us part. Their impression is that only God should separate them from the tables. But see what David said. He said "You prepare a table for me" I am not the one that did it. This position of responsibility is not my doing, I didn't create it, it is my leader who has given me the opportunity to lead. It is a platform, it is a position, it is an opportunity for me to showcase the talents in me. My leader trusts me so much, my leader loves me so much, and my leader is so secured so much that He is able to allow me access to His table.
He says "you prepare a table before me in the presence of my oppositions, you anoint my head with oil and my cup runs over." My influence begins to move from me, I begin to impart others, I begin to spread in influence and have results. Why? You have anointed my head with oil. You have chosen me among the rest. You did not just mentor me, you have chosen me and you have given me a position of responsibility so that I can actually be able to represent or replicate your influence even though you are no more. And so; you must understand that righteous leadership is a secured leadership and it is that secured to the point that it can plan a succession or a successor in time.
Righteous leaders are able to pass the baton on, they are able to set the tables before the people they are leading in the presence of their enemies, and they are able to stand by them, watching over them, guiding them through the whole phases, not being envious of them, but being secured enough to allow them to practice the things that you have taught them over time, allowing them to take over after you are gone.
#6. LASTING LEGACY
The last thing which is a very important quality of righteous leadership is found in verse 6. It says:
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
Why? Because of all these things that we have read earlier. Because the Lord is my shepherd, because He leads me beside the still waters, because He mentors and coaches me, because He gives me opportunity to have responsibility myself, He gives me opportunity to express the gifts of God inside of me, I will actually continue to abide in His principles. I will continue to follow His examples because He has allowed His life to become a platform for me to rise up with, I will continue to pattern my own leadership after Him. And that is what is important for us to know. Righteous leaders have lasting legacies. They are men and women that has legacies that lingers long before them. He says I will not depart from His house. I will continue to follow His order in my leadership.
When people see me, I want them to see me as one who was led by my leader. Because I have learnt so much from Him, I have seen so much in Him, I want to also become a leader after His order. And so, I want to command the results after His order. That is legacy. Many leaders are leading today and as soon as they are replaced; new leaders after them quickly change everything they have been doing into new things. Why? Because their legacies could no longer stand the test of time. If you want your legacies to linger beyond you; then it is important you understand that you must become a righteous leader. You must not become somebody who oppress people simply because you want to rise up. You must allow people to rise up, you must raise more leaders. People who will take responsibilities.
I am sure you still remember the story of David and Solomon. Even though David was still alive, he anointed Solomon in his place. Solomon began to reign as king not at the demise of his father, even in the presence of his father. His father was alive yet he had responsibility to lead. You know, that was not the story of Solomon's son. He was not able to pass the baton on rightly. Righteous leaders are able to pass it on, and their influence, their authority are perpetuated in time and in generation.
Thank you for the gift of your time, you have been listening to Leaderview and my name is Gboyega Adedeji. I believe you are determined to become a righteous leader in your own generation knowing fully well that until you become a righteous leader, then you have no chance of having any legacy behind you. I hope to connect with you again next week Wednesday, stay influential, stay leading; but make sure you are a quiet influence on your people. Don't be a noisy influence and I trust that God will continue to lift you up in Jesus' Mighty name.
Amen!
