JESUS, THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF LEADERSHIP!

Every four years people in the U.S. make a choice
about who should lead our nation for the next four years.
We choose between leaders with different opinions and
ideologies, and that choice could affect our lives for years to come.
It is a time when we are asking (and some of us are arguing)
about what qualities a good leader should have.

We should be focused not on who has the best “sound bites”,
but who has the best leadership qualities.
Whenever we have struggles, or choices to make,
we can always look to Jesus for guidance.
What can Jesus teach us about how a leader should look?

We can look to Jesus for examples of wise, loving leadership.
But Jesus is so different from many earthly leaders that it seems
foolish to compare them (especially when our more important
comparison should be between Jesus and ourselves).

Are we speaking the truth?
Are we giving Jesus our whole hearts?
Do we value others?
Are we showing compassion,
or forgiving much less than we should?

None of us are getting it all right, all the time.
But election season offers us lots of opportunities for practice!
We can speak the truth in love, and we can value people
who have been labeled by society as worthless.
We can be kind to those who treat us poorly,
(including people who disagree with us).

We can let our compassion motivate our actions,
(instead of being driven to prove we are right).
We can forgive, even before being asked.
We can be like the leaders we want to see.

Because no matter who is elected, what matters
the most is: who will we allow to rule our hearts.
In that race, we can’t go wrong when
we sign up for supporting Jesus.

Here are six ways Jesus is different from the leaders
of today, and what those differences teach us.

1. JESUS ALWAYS SPEAKS THE TRUTH.

Remember when Jesus called the Pharisees a “brood of vipers”
(Matthew 12:34)?
Ouch! Harsh words, huh?
The Pharisees had great religious influence, so wouldn’t
it have been a better strategy to tone it down a bit?

But Jesus speaks the truth without fear of repercussions.
He’s concerned with sharing His message,
not with gaining political support.

Jesus also is not using hard-hitting truths as a way
to rile up anger from people already on His side.
He’s not going for the “gotcha” moment, or the “truth bomb”.
Whether or not it’s to His advantage (and even if it
means He’ll lose supporters), He speaks the truth
(because the truth (undiluted) is what sets us free).

We should pray that our current and future leaders
have the courage and moral fiber to speak the truth
with love, even when it might be costly.

2. JESUS ASKS FOR MORE BECAUSE HE OFFERS MORE.

We all like easy, and people who seek power often
base their campaigns around making things easier for us.
“Vote for me so that your concerns
will be addressed and your problems will be solved!”
Even if we know in our hearts that it can’t be quite
that simple, “easy” can be an attractive offer.

But while Jesus says that His yoke is easy and His burden
is light (Matthew 11:30), His plan has a steep “joining fee”.
He says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

“Take up your cross” would be a horrible campaign slogan.
No one would go for it.
But Jesus is looking at the long-term effect (because He is
more concerned about eternity, than the “here and now”).

Even though the journey may be rough,
we will be rewarded when we make the right choice.
And He reminds us it’s worth it:
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world,
and yet lose or forfeit their very self?” (Luke 9:25).

Jesus offers us an eternity full of joy with Him, but not
in exchange for a vote, or a certain percentage of our hearts.
He wants more than that – He wants
our whole hearts, souls, minds, and commitment.

Our commitment to Jesus (even when following Him
seems difficult) should be far greater than our
commitment to any earthly leaders.

3. JESUS VALUES US MORE.

Why is Jesus willing to tell us to deny ourselves and follow him?
Because He loves us, and that’s what it will take
for us to have a relationship with Him.
Unlike a political candidate, Jesus doesn’t
need our support; He wants our fellowship.

He wants us to enjoy life with Him starting
here on Earth and continuing into eternity.
This is not an offer our earthly leaders can match.

Jesus values us so much that He
paid our debt of sin with His death.
Paul tells us,
“For the joy set before him he endured the cross,
scorning its shame …” (Hebrews 12:2).

The joy of fellowship with us was greater to Him
than the pain of the cross.
And He doesn’t stop there!
He’s still seeking us; still calling us.
He can’t be stopped, because His love for us is relentless.

We should remember Jesus’ great love for humanity and
let that guide and direct our interactions with each other.

4. JESUS VALUES ALL OF US.

We’ve probably all experienced the type of leader who
seeks to surround themselves with influential people,
hoping (unwisely) that being seen with them will
influence people to vote for them.

If we are looking to have an influence on Earth,
hanging out with the smart, the beautiful,
and the rich is a good strategy.

But that’s not how Jesus operates.
He not only spends time with people the world rejects,
but He also goes looking for them.
He seeks out the ostracized, poor, sick, weak, and
people deemed “worthless” – these are the folks
Jesus wants to spend time with.

The story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19) is a beautiful example of this.
Zacchaeus is a despised tax collector working for
the Roman government; he was a cheater, and a sinner.
Because he was not tall enough to see over the crowds.
Zacchaeus had to climb a tree just to catch a glimpse of Jesus.
If anyone else noticed Zacchaeus at all,
they probably would have expected Jesus to walk on by him.

But Jesus calls Zacchaeus by name.
He sees Zacchaeus in the tree
and says He wants to hang out with him.
Zacchaeus’ life changes from that moment – he
repents of his sin and promises to share his wealth.
That’s the power of being valued by Jesus.

We should pray and advocate that our leaders would
remember the most vulnerable among us
(the poor, the sick, the unborn, the children).
Ask your leaders to remember vulnerable children.
Why? Because Jesus valued children (born and unborn).

5. JESUS IS MOTIVATED BY COMPASSION.

Our leaders can create amazing changes if they
will allow compassion to motivate them to action.
Most of us can understand what it’s like
to be compelled to act by compassion:
we see people hurting, and we want to help.

But Jesus is the compassion champion.
He allowed compassion to alter His plans, frustrate His
followers, and throw His work-life balance out of whack.

We see this clearly right after John the Baptist’s death.
Jesus withdraws to a remote area to be alone (Matthew 14:13).
He was often surrounded by crowds and wanted to be alone
after the death of someone important to Him.
But the crowds of people heard about where He was going,
and rather than giving Him some space, they followed Him
and pressed in around Him, eager to have their own needs filled.

When we’re already tired or sad, the last thing we
want is to be confronted by other people’s demands,
and sometimes we react harshly.

But Jesus looked out at the crowds and
“had compassion on them and healed their sick”
(Matthew 14:14).
He set His own needs aside in order to minister to others,
not because He had too, but because His compassion
made Him want to.

We should pray that Jesus will influence our leaders
to be moved by compassion (not a compassion used
to advance their agenda, but a sincere compassion that
causes them to have a concern for the good of the people).

6. JESUS FORGIVES.

Sadly, forgiveness is not always advantageous to our leaders.
Think of the debate stages where we see candidates
reminded of every time they made a mistake, misspoke,
or cast an unpopular vote.

One candidate brings up their opponent’s mistake and vice
versa, and it seems that whoever memorized the longer list
of sins will win the day.
Mistakes are used to condemn and destroy.

We need to hold our leaders accountable,
but true repentance should be met with true forgiveness.
When we can show genuine forgiveness,
we are set free to be the people God created us to be.

In the book of Matthew, we see Peter trying to be
generous by asking Jesus if he should forgive
someone “up to seven times” (Matthew 18:21).

Jesus shocks him by replying that he shouldn’t forgive
seven times, but “seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22).
In essence, Jesus tells us that however much we think
we should forgive, we should forgive even more.

Jesus doesn’t forgive to “be nice”, or because it’s the
socially acceptable thing to do;
He forgives to set people free.
He doesn’t want anything blocking people
from living a life in all its fullness (John 10:10).

We should value leaders who show compassion,
who are truthful, who honor and respect the laws
of God, who are genuinely concerned about the
good of all people (not allowing special interest
groups to pressure them into infringing on the
beliefs of the majority), and who are willing to forgive.

Pray,
“Thank You, Jesus, for showing and teaching me the
qualities of leadership, along with a heart and love for
others, and our heavenly Father. Thank You for showing
what it means to put others first, and to have a sensitivity
for their needs, and hurts. Thank You for showing me an
example of real compassion and concern for others.
Thank You for suffering the pain I deserve so that I
can receive salvation from our Father. Thank You!!”