Pondering Proverbs - Leadership (6)

 

“The king’s favor is toward a servant who acts wisely, but his anger is toward him who acts shamefully.” Proverbs 14:35.

 

What do you see in this verse? Have you known people in leadership who rewarded people of integrity and good work, and who also held those accountable who lacked integrity and performed substandard and shoddy work? Have you also seen the reverse? That is, have you seen people in authority who have favored those who lack integrity and who ignore, or even eliminate from their positions, people of integrity? Perhaps you have known leaders who are an inconsistent mix of these things?

 

Does integrity matter anymore? If it does matter, how much does it matter? Is money and success and power and position more important than integrity? Are dividends to stockholders and investors more important than integrity?

 

I am using “integrity” along with “wisdom” and acting wisely because the wisdom of Proverbs and the Bible is a wisdom of integrity – it is not a cheap pragmatic wisdom that trades eternity for the here and now, that barters away a relationship with God for immediate success and gratification.

 

One of our challenges is that we live in a world that insists on instant results and gratification, and that values the material and sensual above everything. The speed of life and the transmission and volume of noise demands that we participate in the insanity around us, responding with cooperation and participation…unless…of course…we choose to live in Christ; unless…of course…we learn to live in the One in whom we will find “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3).

 

We could ponder Proverbs 14:35 every day for a year and not exhaust how it might look in various settings; for now I’ll just make a few observations, certain that you have much to add.

 

A person in authority should encourage those who act wisely and help them to grow in wisdom and share that wisdom with others – to mentor others. At the same time the leader himself should always be growing in wisdom. The person in authority should, in word and action, send a consistent and clear message that integrity matters and is honored. This message ought to be communicated within and without an organization and it must be nonnegotiable – it cannot be sold or compromised. The leader must always be self-critical, asking the Holy Spirit to search his own heart to reveal anything that would poison his or her integrity and thus poison those around him or her.

 

Leaders and organizations must be willing to pay a price to maintain integrity and live in wisdom – and sooner or later it is likely that a price will indeed have to be paid.

 

Leaders ought not to expect others to live in wisdom toward others unless the leaders themselves model wisdom and integrity in their own relationships. It is not enough to tell people how to live, leaders ought to show people how to live.

 

Those leaders who have leaders above them, those who are directly accountable to others, ought to model integrity to those above them, as well as to their peers and to those below them. That is, godly leaders are called to model wisdom to everyone; they should model God’s wisdom to those above them as well as to those below them in an organization.

 

What to do when someone acts shamefully?

 

Sometimes it is helpful to show anger, sometimes it is not. We need not show our anger for it may not be helpful. When we do demonstrate anger, it ought to be subject to our Lord Jesus Christ and we ought to be careful about it, lest we become self-righteous and self-indulgent and shameful.

 

When someone acts shamefully, how can we be redemptive and hold the person accountable? Consider how patient Jesus was with Peter on more than one occasion – though to be sure Jesus once said, “Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests but man’s.” (Mt. 16:23). Straight talk is often redemptive talk – people need to hear the truth; hopefully we speak the truth with care and concern.

 

Then there are times when shameful actions must result in dismissal from a position, the loss of a job or other position. Hopefully, in the long run, this will also work redemptively in the other person’s life. As we considered in a previous reflection, we are called to use just scales in our judgements and actions.

 

We also need to protect others from shameful behavior, we have a duty to all, not just to one or two or a few. In my own workplace experience, sexual harassment, stealing, violence to others, and discrimination were zero tolerance actions that led to dismissal.

 

While I had zero tolerance for falsifying business documents, lying is such a part of our society that I tried to teach people who lied to tell the truth. Of course I also noted those who lied, including those who lied about inconsequential things – for the person who will lie about a small thing will lie about an important matter. When many of our national leaders lie, when national and multi-national businesses lie, when much advertising and marketing is built on lies and deceit – can we expect these things not to affect our behavior as a people?

 

At the same time, as Jesus teaches, “To whom much is given, much is required.” The more responsibility and authority a person have the higher the bar, the higher the trust level, and the greater potential to do harm to others and poison an organization. Again, from the top downward in our society (and in the professing church) we see few examples of people in authority taking ownership and responsibility for their shameful actions – indeed, the shameful has been turned into the reasonable and justifiable and excusable in our world and in the professing church.

 

Those in authority are both gatekeepers and those who provide shelter and cover for others. Kings and those in leadership ought not to provide cover for those who practice shameful actions, while they should be a safe place for those who practice wisdom and integrity. Those in leadership ought to be careful about who and what they allow through the gates of their organizations and communities, and when it is necessary to have people leave through the gates, they need to make the decisions and take the actions to ensure it happens.

 

Wherever we may be, we are there as the servants of Jesus Christ, as sons and daughters of the Living God; we are to reflect the Life of Christ within us, to display that Life. When we are in positions of influence and authority, we are called to exercise that authority and influence under the authority of Jesus Christ – we are accountable to Jesus Christ before anyone or anything else.

 

Let us make no mistake, every child of God, in Christ, is in a position of influence and authority – therefore, every child of God should manifest the character and attributes of godly kingship and authority as taught in Proverbs, in the Bible, and in our Lord Jesus Christ.