Are you just and fair with those on your team? (130-1)

Throughout history and in every culture wise leaders have universally recognized the virtue of justice and the treachery of injustice. Read Psalm 140:12-13.

Psalm 140 acknowledges that the character of God is the absolute standard for justice. A leader’s ability to have awareness of this moral standard is part of our having been created in the image of God.

Through the years one of the most common complaints I have heard from my team is “But it just isn’t fair!” When they were right, my leadership suffered by coming into question not only with the person who had been treated unfairly but by my entire team.

The Bible has numerous verses on this subject of fairness. A couple of my favorites are:

• Micah 6:8 “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
• Proverbs 16:11-12 (tlb) “The Lord demands fairness in every business deal. He established the principle. It is a horrible thing for a king to do evil. His right to rule depends upon fairness.”

Everyone should act with fairness and justice but the stakes go up when a leader is involved. Leaders set the prices, determine who is promoted, who is transferred, who is trained, who is hired and who is fired.

Focus for a moment on one statement from each of the verses listed above. From Micah 6:8 leaders are told to “…walk humbly.” Humility is a prerequisite for fairness. Without humility a leader will assume they have rights they do not have. From Proverbs 16:12 “His right to rule depends on fairness.” A leader’s very right to lead a team depends on them being fair and just.

Do you have favorites on your team? Do you think your team knows? Can you be just and fair with people in favored positions? You can tear the pages out of the Bible that discuss a leader’s need to be fair but it won’t change the facts. Wise leaders desperately seek to be just and fair in their leadership.