Pastor's Corner: Are there any good leaders left?

(See Habakkuk 2:1-2) It's a vivid picture: A walled city in vast, open countryside. A tower high above from which one can see all around. Is the enemy approaching or is that a band of shepherds? Is that solitary traveler a saint or a spy? The prophet Habakkuk says he is like one who stands watch. Like a guard in the tower, he has issued a challenge to God: He wonders what God will say about corruption, strife and injustice that the prophet has witnessed in the nation of Judah from its people and leaders. What would God say today? He questions, God speaks. He questions again, God speaks. He prays, he listens. Then he makes a declaration of faith that has rung out, not only over all Israel, but across the centuries. Habakkuk was steward of God's word to Judah, a steward of God's truth. God calls all of us to be stewards of truth. To do so we must know His Word.

We rarely think of truth as a matter of stewardship, but all of us will be held accountable for the amount of light we have received ... God brought us forth by the word of truth, and He calls us to humbly receive and apply this implanted word (See James 1:18-25). The scriptures teach, reprove, correct, and train us in righteousness so that we may be "thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The proper stewardship of truth is even more crucial when one is in a position of leadership. Even though Habakkuk's dialogue with God was not a form of an oracle to Israel, it represented the voice of the godly in Judah, struggling to comprehend the ways of God.

At a very personal level, great leaders, are truthful leaders. They demand it from themselves and from those who follow them. Great leaders are honest, just, realistic, optimistic, enduring, reconciling, responsible and empowering. Truth demands honesty. Truth demands realism. Truth demands justice. Truth offers hope. Truth requires acceptance of responsibility. Truth liberates.

Telling God's truth honestly but graciously in a relativistic culture is not easy. We should all be more willing to speak God's truth openly and naturally in life and leadership. We should demand and expect our leadership to tell the truth and set an example for all of us to follow.

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Pastor Michael O'Hearn

Hi-Line Lutheran Churches.