Does fear or courage control your leadership decisions? (105-2)

Leadership by its very nature requires action, and taking action requires courage. Courage is needed for something as simple as making a leadership decision—you may be wrong and lose face or worse cost someone some money or their job; or a leader may be asked to lead when people’s lives, including their own, may be on the line. Read 2 Kings 11:1-21.

Jehu, future king of the northern kingdom, Israel, murdered Joram, King of Israel, to ascend to the throne. Ahaziah, King of Judah, the southern kingdom, happened to be a guest at Joram’s palace when Jehu assassinated Joram, so Jehu killed him also. Second Kings 11:1 says, “When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family.” This power hungry woman wanted the throne and was willing to kill all her grandsons in order to have it. Enter the scene, two leaders with great courage:

• Second Kings 11:2 says, “Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed.”
• Second Kings 11:3 says, “He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the Lord (under the care of Jehoiada the priest) for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.”

The setting for another great movie! Can you imagine the courage it took for these two leaders to save the one-year-old boy knowing their own lives would be snuffed out should the Queen Mother find out what either of them had done!

Later in chapter 11, Jehoiada devises a plan to oust Athaliah by using her own palace guards to establish Joash as king and execute Athaliah for her crimes against the royal family. We could spend several days studying Jehoiada’s leadership, his ability to plan, the ability to develop a trusted network and a like minded team, his communication skills, his passion, his timing, his ability to understand the big picture, his character to do right even in the face of great personal risk and on and on, but Jehoiada’s courage is the element that anchored all his leadership skills.

Leaders are not born with courage, it is developed. The process of developing courage will be different for each leader. Sometimes it is a series of small actions that allow self-confidence and courage to develop little by little. For other leaders, such as some of the ordinary guys I met in the Marine Corp, they are thrown into the “deep end of the pool” and have to develop an attitude of courage almost instantly. No matter the process, one key element that all courageous leaders have in common is a core truth that “paralyzing fear” does not allow for effective leadership and cannot be allowed to control their actions.

How do you react to situations that put you at risk? As you consider that question, don’t just look for some major decision but consider your everyday actions. Effective leaders look for patterns. These patterns will give indication of your core truths concerning courage and fear. If your pattern is to allow fear to control your leadership decisions and actions, ask God to help you discern how you developed this core truth. Seek God’s forgiveness for your lack of trust in Him and start the process of changing your core truths and becoming a leader of courage.