Do you consistently, actively seek more wisdom? (149-3)

Effective leaders are constantly seeking more wisdom. Read Isaiah 5:21.

The fifth chapter of Isaiah didn’t win Isaiah a popularity contest among the leaders and rulers of Judah. This is a harshly worded chapter of condemnation delivered by God’s prophet to those who had ignored God in lieu of self-interest and self-gratification. Many times during this chapter Isaiah uses the word “woe” as a threat to indicate that the people would regret something or be punished in some way for their actions.

One of the areas God condemned ancient Judah for in chapter five was leaders believing they were wise in their own eyes. Since God is the source of wisdom, and He grants wisdom to leaders, when these leaders stole credit for a gift from God they crossed a line that ignored God’s demand that leaders reverence Him. The leaders in Judah had stopped seeking God’s wisdom and became arrogant assuming they already possessed the wisdom they needed to rule the nation.

This kind of arrogance is still a velvet lined trap for today’s leaders. It looks luxurious from the outside and very attractive to the ego but once a leader steps into this trap of arrogance, it springs shut and crushes them like a victim. When leaders attain a position of authority, if they surround themselves with “yes men” their only logical conclusion is that everything centers on them and they are a very special individual. The leader who believes they are wise in their own eyes still gets God’s attention, but in a negative way.

Effective Christian leaders understand that wisdom is not something that can be completely and totally attained and they continue to seek God for ever-increasing amounts of wisdom. The truly wise understand and demonstrate a belief that God is the source of wisdom. James 1:5 tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

Every leader should memorize Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”