I need to start by saying I am really not into politics, So please do not be surprised when you ask me basic questions that you think every citizen should know and my response would be erm erm erm erm erm, till i finally give up lol!
My country Nigeria aka Giants of Africa in west Africa is going through elections at the moment to choose a leader for the country, we have seen many leaders go and come, some make positive changes while some make negative changes, but let’s try and forget about the past and press forward.
Every Nigerian is looking for a change, but how do we recognize positive change? The elections will be taking place sometime in April 2011 and I am aware that lives have been lost because of the candidates chosen for the election; it has obviously because an issue of tribe to some, instead of making a choice of based on a good leader with the right qualities. We were reading the book of Jonah recently and Nigeria came to mind as i saw the qualities of a good leader in the king of Nineveh, a good leader is not perfect, but fights for perfection. A good leader forgets the past and presses forward to start on a CLEAN slate..
Although saying this i do not think it's ONLY a leaders responsibility to push a country forward, the followers have a role to play. There is a saying that when the head is rotten it affects the other part of the body. I pray we will not elect a leader that would affect the country negatively IJN
I pray as leaders and followers we pick a thing or two from chapter 3 of the book of Jonah.
Qualities of a good Leader
I will give a brief introduction about the story of Nineveh in the previous chapters, the city of Nineveh was about to be destroyed by God because of their sins, so God sent His servant Jonah to pass this message to them, that they would be destroyed in 40days because of their wickedness, well after some heavy nudges from God lol! Jonah finally delivers the message to the people of Nineveh, note that the people of Nineveh did not know right from wrong, but take note of the qualities that the king of Nineveh possessed in this short chapter.
Humility: The Word says that the Lord will humble those that exalt themselves and exalt those that are humble. Verse 6 of that chapter says "When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes" , Do you know what it is for a king to step down from his throne? this king acknowledged the King of all kings, Some leaders set themselves on high horses and believe they cannot be brought down because of the wealth they possess, if any leader needs a lesson on humility the best teacher i can think of is king Nebuchaddnezzar in the book of Daniel, so when choosing a leader this is one of the qualities that should be found in his or her.
Does not procrastinate: A good is a man/woman takes actions immediately on things that are important, he finds it hard to procrastinate, i say this with sadness in my heart, that this is one thing that has been a down fall with previous leaders in that country, procrastinating of changes that would move the country forward, but as I said earlier we should look forward to the change that is about to take place. Verse 6 of that same chapter shows us the immediate action of the king of Nineveh immediately he heard Jonah's message, he stepped down from his throne, removed his robe and sent a decrees to the city, there was no slacking on his part, if he took his time the city could be destroyed.
Wisdom: Proverbs 15:5 says “Only a fool despises a parent's discipline; who ever learns from correction is wise”. We can tell that the king of Nineveh was wise because of the decisions he made after he heard the message from God, please understand that it did not start well, but he decided to take the message from Jonah . His decree to the people came with wisdom verse 7 - 9 tells us that the king and his nobles sent a decree throughout the whole city, for the people to fast , pray and turn from their evil ways...... Hmmmm wisdom is much better than gold.
Positive: A good leader remains positive even in the midst of adversity, verse 9 says “Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change His mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us" even though a message had been passed the king remained positive, when a leader is positive his followers recognise this and follow suit.
Fear of God: Proverbs 1:7 says the Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, a leader that does not fear God will not have compassion for his followers. He will believe that he does not answer to anybody so he can do as he pleases, you will know a leader that fears God by the decision him/her makes. This quality to me is the most important out of all the qualities, why do I say this? if one can fear God genuinely the remaining qualities of a leader will fall into place. Choose right people.
Followers: We are all leaders one way or the other, be it in our homes, offices, place of worship etc, but trust me one cannot be a good leader if they find it hard to be a good follower. This is not a matter of pointing fingers at the leaders every time, look at yourself in the mirror first, ask yourself what changes you are making, as followers we should support our leader and not frustrate him/her with our ways. The people of Nineveh are a good example of good followers; they OBEYED their king by observing the fast, praying and turning from their evil ways. We complain every time how the leaders do not hear the complaints of the people, but as follower do we listen and obey the laws/decrees set by the leaders. People let the CHANGE start from you.
The OUTCOME
So what was the outcome after the decisions made by the king and the followers, verse 10 says " When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their own evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened" People the decisions we make as leaders and followers can TURN THINGS AROUND.
2nd Chronicles 7 v 14 says “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and RESTORE their land"
Let’s start on a clean slate and make right decisions, so we can be restored.
I give God the glory for this note, Father I pray your WILL be done in the election, you see deeper than we can see, choose a leader for us Father, let it be a man after your own heart....... and all the children of God say a resounding Amen J
Have a lovely weekend people
Ese signing out
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