My mom had a thousand one-line sayings that have stuck with me over the years. One of them that I remember from about age 13 was, “You can pick your nose and you can pick your friends, but choose your friends carefully because you can’t pick your friend’s nose.” My mom had a memorable way of telling a 13-year-old that I had the ability to eliminate items from my person that were a problem or irritating but if my friend had a life issue, I would not be able to change them and it might influence me for life. The book of Proverbs says the same thing for adults, “A mirror reflects a man’s face but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses” Proverbs 27:19 (tlb). Wise leaders understand that positive or negative relationships will shape their leadership. Read 2 Chronicles 21.

Jehoshaphat is known as a godly king even with the weakness he displayed for unhealthy alliances. When he died his son Jehoram assumed the throne. Jehoram was one of the people directly affected by one of Jehoshaphat’s unhealthy alliances. Jehoram had an arranged marriage to Athaliah, King Ahab of Israel’s daughter. Ahab was one of the most evil kings ever to reign the Jewish people of the northern kingdom. Jehoram’s life shows the influence Athaliah had on his core values. Read more »

It is possible for a leader to have most areas of their leadership life squared away, be successful in virtually everything they touch and still have one area continually out of control. Wise leaders understand that even allowing one area to be out of control will influence their legacy. Read 2 Chronicles 17-20.

King Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king of Judah and reigned in Jerusalem for 25 years. For the most part Jehoshaphat was an outstanding godly leader. Second Chronicles tells us that Jehoshaphat sought the Lord in virtually all areas of his life, had great wealth and honor, became more and more powerful and even the arch enemy of Judah, the Philistines, brought Jehoshaphat gifts and were at peace with him. Read more »

Leaders can make a serious error in judgment and still have a positive impact with the rest of their leadership life. Read 2 Chronicles 11:5-17.

Rehoboam’s leadership is primarily known for a poor decision early in his reign as king of Israel that split the kingdom of Israel into two nations. I don’t think I have ever seen a positive leadership example based on Rehoboam’s life. But even though Rehoboam’s reign as king started poorly, when the entirety of his leadership is viewed, he had some outstanding moments. Read more »

Every decision a leader makes has the potential to establish direction for leadership success or leadership failure. There are times when one bad decision can put a limit on a leader’s future leadership opportunities. Read 2 Chronicles 10:1-19.

King Solomon has successfully ruled Israel for 40 years. Under his leadership Israel had prospered to the point that according to 9:27a, “The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones…” At his death his 41-year-old son Rehoboam assumed leadership. Read more »

An effective leader has a wide range of skills. Yesterday we looked at a leader’s ability to adjust to a situation at an instant’s notice. Today, we look again at King David as a leader, but today we look at his skill as a long-range planner. Read 1 Chronicles 22:1-19.

David had asked God for the privilege of building the temple in Jerusalem that would house the Ark of the Covenant and serve as a place to represent God’s presence on earth. God said it would not be David’s assignment to build the temple, but his son Solomon would build the temple. David could have been hurt or felt rejected by God’s decision but he accepted this information and considered it part of his leadership assignment to prepare a way for his inexperienced son to be successful. Read more »