SHOWING the Way

Nehemiah 5:14-16 (NASB)
14 Moreover, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance.
15 But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God.
16 I also applied myself to the work on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.
Text: In speech,conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:12)

There never seems to be enough good leaders to go around. Leaders can’t take a community any higher morally or ethically than they’ve been themselves, just as a pastor can’t take a church higher spiritually than he’s gone himself. That’s why studying the life and accomplishments of Nehemiah is like a breath of fresh air. When it comes to transforming a culture, a portrait of a godly leader is of greatest importance. Fix this picture in your mind, because we need to find a lot more Nehemiahs today.
After Nehemiah made the nobles and the rulers shape up in the way they treated their fellow Jews who were in need, someone could have asked, “Hey, how about YOU Nehemiah? Do you practice what you preach?
According to these concluding verses in chapter 5, the answer was yes. Nehemiah set a great example for His people. He looked over His 12 year governorship and concluded that he had honored his God. Notice what he did and did not do. First, UNLIKE his predecessors, Nehemiah did not allow power or wealth to corrupt him, because he feared the Lord. That tells me you can be a Christian politician. You can serve in the government and still fear the Lord. You can be in business, law, medicine and fear the Lord. You can be anything and honor God. Nehemiah knew that power and wealth can corrupt. So rather than lounging in the governor’s mansion and enjoying all the “perks” of office, he set himself to work on the wall of Jerusalem. He did not tell other folk to do what he was not willing to do. He led by example. We need leaders today who set the example. I don’t mean being perfect, but making the effort to do it right and being open to correction when they fail. People at our church will tell you I am not perfect. I fail at times and make mistakes. The issue isn’t whether I sin, but whether I’m setting the example I ought and being accountable for my actions. You and I are leaders whether we know it or not. Someone is watching you. What kind of example are you setting?