Effective leaders seek to develop God-honoring character. Read Matthew 18:21-35.

Jesus’ disciples were already leaders when they started following Him but spending time with Jesus caused them to see elements of their life that did not match His words and actions. As they saw Jesus’ consistency, the disciples started trusting Jesus’ character enough to ask the inner-hidden-deeper-secret personal questions they were struggling with in their lives. Peter asked Jesus a question every leader struggles with, “How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” He must have been shocked when Jesus’ answer was, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

God requires leaders to use all the skill He has given them while depending on Him for the outcome. Read Zechariah 4:1-9.

Zerubbabel was among the first group of exiled Hebrews to return from Babylonian captivity. God’s first assignment and His number one priority was to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem that Babylon had destroyed some 70 years earlier. He had a difficult assignment. When God tasked Solomon to build the original temple he had nearly unlimited resources, a willing workforce and Israel was at peace with their neighbors. Zerubbabel had strong opposition, a small demoralized workforce and very limited resources. With all these elements against him, Zerubbabel had allowed the construction to grind to a halt. At this low moment, through Zechariah, God reminds Zerubbabel and all the people that they would succeed but not because of their own might and power; He would be their source of victory.

Being an effective leader requires careful thought that leads to wisdom. Read Haggai 2:10-19.

The Hebrews that returned from exile in Babylon with the mission to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem were struggling in their day-to-day life to have success with their crops. Three times in today’s Scripture Haggai recommends the leaders give careful thought to their situation. When they stopped construction on the temple and focused on their own needs they were lacking in both food and wine. When they stopped giving careful thought to God’s priorities they forfeited the wisdom they needed to find God’s blessing.

God-honoring leadership demands that the leader have God-honoring character. Read Micah 2:1-13.

The leaders in Israel were very prosperous but were condemned by God because they were self-centered and self-serving. Day and night they considered how to get personal gain at the expense of those who could not defend themselves against their onslaught of legal maneuvers and fraudulent actions. They knew God’s commands concerning protecting the poor and oppressed but they determined it was not to their advantage to follow God-established principles in their leadership. Their defective character brought God’s judgment on the entire nation.

Leaders who lack character are often more destructive to an organization than helpful. Read Jonah 1:1-12.

Jonah was God’s prophet in Israel between 785-775 B. C. approximately 175 years after the reign of Solomon. Assyria is the dominate world power and in approximately 60 years, in 722 B. C, will have a military victory over the Northern Kingdom of Israel and will take the majority of those living in Israel into exile. Israel and Judah had already seen several examples of the cruelty, tyranny and brutality of Assyria and were living in great fear of any Assyrian military move against them.