Today you should read: Micah 3
Leadership guru, John Maxwell, said, “Good leadership isn’t about advancing yourself. It’s about advancing your team.” As we step into Micah 3, Micah is essentially saying the same thing. The leaders of Israel have spent too long advancing their own interest instead of the interests of others. Chapter 3 continues the denunciation of Israel’s leaders, “who hate good and love evil” (v 2a).
Among the criticized leaders are wealthy rulers and deceitful prophets. The wealthy take advantage of people at every turn (1–4, 11a), while the prophets sell hope for money (5–7, 11b). Standing in opposition is the prophet, Micah. He says of himself in verse 8, “On the other hand I am filled with power—With the Spirit of the Lord—And with justice and courage to make known to Jacob and his rebellious act, even to Israel his sin.” In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would fill certain people at particular times—we see in 3:8 that Micah was one of those people at one of those times. By the Spirit’s power he was able to stand in stark contrast to the leaders of his day, with justice, courage, and bold rebuke.
Thankfully, believers today are indwelled with the same Spirit that Micah had. We must have the courage to stand for truth, justice, mercy, and integrity, leaning on the Spirit to supply our weaknesses. It’s easy to be tempted when our world is so corrupt and we see so little fruit from our efforts. However, God has called us to be faithful.
The challenge comes when we judge our character by the world. I’m reminded of the story of the man who was called in to talk to his son’s principal because his son was stealing school pens and paper. The man responded, “I don’t know why he would steal, I can get as much as he wants from my office.” The standard of justice is not set by our co-workers, it is set by a perfectly righteous and holy God. Most of us think, “I don’t take advantage of people,” yet we are willing to cut corners both personally and professionally. There is hardly an instance when cutting corners is not robbing someone of something.
For those of us called as leaders, basically all of us, we must remember what Uncle Ben told Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Your responsibility as a leader must be to elevate everyone around you—not only yourself. Responsibility equals servanthood, and the more of it you have, the less “rights” you possess. God does not grant leadership responsibility for you to fulfill your idols. Instead, leadership is a platform from which you leverage every area of your life to point people to Christ. Because our world has a shortage of godly leaders, when one steps up, they usually stand out. That level of influence can shape the landscape of eternity in a big way, all you need to do is be filled with power—With the Spirit of the Lord—And with justice and courage.
By: Tyler Short — Connections Ministry Associate
JumpstartCPC.com 