Do you use your power and influence wisely? (161-5)
Christian leaders who use their power or influence for personal gain offend God. Read Jeremiah 22:1-30.The nation of Judah had an interesting history in the days just prior to the Babylonian conquest of Judah and the people’s deportation to Babylon in 586 BC. They went from several decades under Josiah, a God-honoring king, to the decades that followed with three kings that dishonored God and took advantage of the people for their own personal gain. Chapter 22 condemns the practices of these three kings in the harshest wording possible even to the point of telling the people not to mourn when one of the kings died because he would have no burial and his body would be dragged outside the city gate like a dead donkey.
Jeremiah’s words are a caution to leaders of all ages who build their own kingdom but fail to exhibit wisdom in how they use the power granted to them by God. He warns leaders against preoccupation with their own welfare rather than the people God has given to them. God considers the misuse of power grounds for removal from their position of authority. Leaders who use their power and influence for personal gain at the expense of others are an offense to God.
Power is essential to leadership. Without it leaders cannot lead. Unfortunately, power and influence are not always used to help others. If you’re a leader, you have power and influence over others; they listen to you; you influence them and to some extent their life direction is controlled by you. What you do with that power and influence matters. Power is assigned by God and the use of power is a god-like function. Wise leaders understand that God will hold them responsible for how they used the power He granted to them.
