Leadership Ramblings
What matters most to God when it comes to leadership? Is it appearance, education, or social acceptance? Naturally, we would all say no. But I wonder at what level we have truly come to understand that these things are not God’s main interest.
As we’ll see in this part of Leadership Ramblings, there is a hidden person of the heart that matters most to God. This is someone within each of us, known only to you and to God. It is the person He desires to work in and through. To lead well, we must address the issues of our hearts and the condition of that hidden person.
Leaders, whether well-known or not, all strive to serve those they lead. At least, we try to serve. We aim to reach the world around us and often look outward. But we forget that before we can minister to others, we must first be ministered to. We can only bring about change to the extent that we ourselves have been changed, and that change begins in the heart.
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)
Guarding our hearts “above all else” means just that: guarding our hearts above all else. There is nothing more important to our personal growth and development, and ultimately to our service to the Lord, than taking care of our hearts.
If you’re like me, you’ve probably used that verse many times in your teaching. But if you’re anything like me, you have also been guilty of forgetting to guard your heart above all else.
The hidden person
There are a couple of New Testament scriptures I want to discuss briefly that reveal the connection between the hidden person of the heart and the guarding of our hearts.
“Do not let your adornment be merely outward – arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel – rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”
1 Peter 3:3,4 (NKJV)
Also:
“Tell the daughter of Zion, behold your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Matthew 21:5 (NKJV)
What do the scriptures above have in common? They both address the attitude of a leader’s heart. Both use the same Greek word: praus, which means “a humility that is considerate, unassuming, gentle, mild, meek.”
If this attitude of humility, of praus, is what God values, then it follows that in guarding our hearts, we must also guard against anything that opposes humility. Why is humility so important to leadership? Because humility says, “I can’t do this alone, but with God, I can.”
The original and ongoing sin is pride. Even before Adam and Eve fell in the Garden, Satan fell because of pride. This is revealed in the five “I will” statements found in Isaiah 14:13–14:
From this, we can conclude that Satan used, and still uses today, what caused his own fall in his effort to separate people from God: pride. He appeals to that sense within us that says, “I can do this on my own,” drawing us away from dependence on God.
This does not usually happen quickly or obviously. Satan comes, just as he did in the garden (Genesis 3:1–6), with words designed to plant doubt in our hearts about God’s wisdom. What did he first say to Eve? “Did God really…?” With that question, he began to challenge God’s wisdom and authority. As Eve’s trust in God was shaken, Satan pushed further, twisting the truth and denying that God’s reasoning was what He had said. He implied that God was withholding something from her and that it was safe to disobey because God could not be fully trusted.
As leaders, falling into pride will not happen in a moment. But it will happen if we do not guard our hearts—the inner person—from it.
Wrong heart attitudes
While we would like to think that wrong motives of the heart are easy to recognize, they are often surprisingly difficult to detect. They are not always reflected in what we do outwardly, but are found in the hidden motives of our hearts.
The condition of our hearts as leaders is critical in our service to God. This applies to all believers, but is especially important for those in leadership. It’s not a lack of ability that stops people from reaching their God-given destiny, but wrong attitudes of the heart.
Misplaced loyalties
“Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king…and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal heart.”
2 Chronicles 25:1a,2 (NKJV)
Our hearts’ loyalties guide our actions. Sometimes, these actions may seem good or even appear to be “right in the sight of the Lord.” But if they stem from a heart that is loyal to self, seeking honor or recognition from others, they will not ultimately carry lasting weight.
Evil hearts
The word “evil” can provoke strong reactions. As born-again, Bible-believing, Spirit-filled believers, how can that word apply to us?
Evil hearts are not necessarily what we often imagine. They are hearts that do not fully believe God, His Word, His promises, His faithfulness, and His desire to do good for His children. When we begin to question His goodness, we reveal something about the condition of our hearts.
“thus King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king; and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.”
2 Chronicles 12:13-15 (NKJV)
Even kings over God’s people faltered in their leadership when they failed to prepare and guard their hearts. As they were elevated to lead, they began to rely on their position rather than on God. What had been given by God was slowly taken for granted. They forgot that leading people requires kneeling before God.
If we are not careful, we can fall into the same pattern. It is possible to lead and yet drift inwardly, neglecting the hidden person of the heart.
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;”
Hebrews 3:12 (NKJV)
An evil heart of unbelief is not simply a lack of faith. It reflects a deeper mistrust, questioning who God is, His wisdom, and His intent to lead us well.
Hard hearts
Hard hearts are marked by stubbornness, callousness, a refusal to submit to God or trust Him, and, ultimately, disobedience. One of the most well-known examples in Scripture is Pharaoh, who held Israel in slavery (Exodus 1–15). His heart was hardened toward God and His people, and that hardness led to devastating consequences through the plagues God sent upon Egypt.
At this point, some may ask, “Didn’t God harden Pharaoh’s heart?” This account powerfully illustrates both personal responsibility and divine response. If you examine it closely, you will see that Pharaoh hardened his own heart during the first five plagues. Then, in Exodus 9:12, there is a turning point where God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh had already committed to a path of resistance—through disobedience, oppression, and even the killing of Hebrew children (Exodus 1). These actions showed a heart unwilling to submit to God.
In this way, Pharaoh positioned himself for defeat. May we not do the same.
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness.”
Hebrews 3:7,8 (NKJV)
Deceived hearts
Deception involves twisting the truth. When Satan tempted Eve, as discussed earlier, he didn’t tell outright lies. Instead, he presented parts of the truth from angles that sowed doubt in her heart. While it might be easy to believe that the person being deceived had no role in it, that’s not the case.
It is our responsibility to rightly divide truth; nobody else can do this for us. Avoiding deception depends on knowing the truth.
“Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.”
Deuteronomy 11:16,17 (NKJV)
To “take heed” means to pay attention and be aware. Many Christians, including some leaders, are easily deceived when they encounter what seems to be a convincing argument. Arguments are only persuasive if they align with what we know to be true: God’s word.
“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”
John 8:31b, 32 (NKJV)
As leaders, we cannot roll over and go along with the opinions of the moment or with what society and culture impose on us. God’s word is the standard by which we lead and live. It is our responsibility to stay rooted in it, giving ourselves consistent time to read and meditate on it.
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
Joshua 1:8 (NKJV)
Presumptuous hearts
Journalist Henry Morton Stanley spoke the famous words, “Dr. Livingston, I presume?” when he finally found the renowned explorer and missionary, Dr. Livingstone, in Ujiji, Tanzania. This was a correct presumption on his part and not the kind of presuming we’re exploring here.
A presumptuous heart oversteps boundaries and takes liberties that do not belong to it. It resists submission and shows little regard for authority. Presumption leads to disrespect and, over time, fosters a rebellious attitude toward those in charge.
Leaders can fall into this as well when their hearts turn inward toward their own will rather than toward God’s. In that place, there is a loss of honor for authority, whether God’s authority or earthly authority.
“and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.”
2 Peter 2:10,11 (NKJV)
The thread running through all these conditions of the hidden person of the heart returns to humility. When we begin to assume that we know enough or can do enough apart from God, we place ourselves in a dangerous position.
May we not presume that we know it all.
“Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression.”
Psalm 19:3 (NKJV)
Hypocritical hearts
The adage, “Do as I say, don’t do as I do,” does not and cannot apply to leadership. Leaders are meant to lead by the same standards they represent and preach. Unfortunately, many have fallen into the trap of hypocrisy.
“Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”
Romans 2:1 (NKJV)
We have seen many leaders fall, often publicly and on a large scale, with a deeply negative effect on the mission of the Church, to grow God’s family (1 Timothy 2:4). As a result, that growth has been hindered.
A hypocritical heart lives a life disconnected from what it claims to represent. Not all hypocrites are preachers, nor are all preachers hypocrites. But enough have walked this path to cause damage to God’s work.
May we not choose this as our course in leadership.
Despising hearts
Leaders who serve well, as we have already noted, are motivated first by their love for God. They do not lead from an inflated sense of self. Without this foundation, despising or even resenting those we lead, as well as the responsibilities of leadership, can quietly take root.
“How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised correction!”
Proverbs 5:12 (NKJV)
A despising heart is characterized by being unteachable, proud, and often harsh. It resists correction and lacks humility. This type of heart shows that it has not been guarded against pride but has instead allowed it to grow.
This condition is especially dangerous, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
A despising heart creates a deep separation between God and us and, if left unchecked, will eventually disqualify us from leadership.
Finally
Did you know that each of us will lead in one way or another during our lifetime? According to the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS), everyone will influence approximately 80,000 people during their lifetime.
What is influence? It is leadership. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines influence as: having an effect on the way a person thinks or behaves or on the way that something works or develops.
You may not have chosen leadership, but having influence is something none of us can avoid. In that sense, leadership has been placed before each of us. The question is not whether we will lead, but what kind of leadership, or influence, we will carry and be known for.
The answer to that question is shaped by how we develop the hidden person of the heart. How we guard it, and how we allow God to work within it, will determine the kind of leader we become.
Choose wisely.
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Recommended reading: If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy reading these:
Leadership Ramblings 1: How a Leader Is Made
Leadership Ramblings 2: Things to Keep in Mind
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