Leadership Lessons from the Lesser Known
Many leaders start out great and serve their organizations faithfully. Many leaders experience success early on, but then over time, sadly, their egos take control and they become prideful. Soon, a huge sense of entitlement grows inside them. Eventually, they come to believe that the organization owes them.
They have metamorphosized from faithful, servant leaders into destructive, selfish, prideful leaders. The road to selfish pride is paved with envy, lust for power, and often, greed.
A quick Google search of fallen businessmen shows how common it is for leaders to go from serving their organizations to serving themselves! Here’s a brief look at four business leaders who fell into the trap of self-interest in the last few years.
Dennis Kozlowski, rose from the bottom to become CEO of Tyco. Over a period of years, Kozlowski siphoned off $600 million of the company funds for his own use. Tyco survived, barely, but Kozlowski quite rightly ended up in prison.
Robert Rubin, while he was the US Treasury Secretary, pushed through deregulation that allowed large banks to gamble on high-risk investments knowing they were protected by Federal bailouts. After his government service, Rubin worked for CitiGroup where he also served as a member of the Board of Directors. Rubin earned $120 million at CitiGroup while CitiGroup made numerous bad investments, which eventually resulted in them requiring a $45 Billion government bailout.
Kenneth Lay, CEO of Enron, and Jeffrey Skilling, Enron Chairman, teamed up to cook the books by overvaluing assets and hiding debts in fake subsidiaries. Enron went bankrupt and put 20,000 employees out of work.
The list of failed leaders stretches back through time and stretches well beyond the borders of the United States. In fact, there are several failed leaders described in the Bible. One such failed leader is Jehu, King of Israel.
Jehu Climbs the Ranks
Jehu started life as a soldier. Eventually, he became commander of the chariot division of King Ahab’s army. When King Ahab was killed in battle, the prophet Elisha, at God’s command, anointed Jehu as King of Israel.
When Jehu became king, Israel was at its peak militarily, economically, and politically. However, the people of Israel had turned away from God. Through intermarriage with Phoenicians, foreign religions were introduced to the people of Israel. Ultimately, the worship of Baal replaced the worship of God.
God Declares Judgment
Through His prophet, God instructed Jehu to destroy the house of Ahab. Ahab and his wife Jezebel introduced and commanded the worship of Baal. They had even killed many of God’s priests and prophets.
Jehu quickly killed members of Ahab’s family and Jezebel, Ahab’s wife. Then Jehu went on to kill the rest of Ahab’s family just as God had commanded. Jehu then turned his attention to the priests of Baal. Then he had all the priest of Baal gathered together for a celebration and had them all killed (2 Kings 9:14-10:27).
Jehu Goes too Far and Not far Enough
However, in his zeal, Jehu went too far. He recklessly killed people God had not commanded he kill because it was politically expedient.
Worse, Jehu did not go far enough. Jehu allowed worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan to continue because it was also politically expedient.
God declared judgment on the people responsible for introducing the worship of foreign gods. Initially, Jehu followed God’s command, but, in his zeal, he killed innocent people. Then, instead of following God completely, Jehu allowed the continued worship of the golden calves.
Jehu’s selfish interest in killing off enemies and allowing people to continue to worship foreign gods shows Jehu’s heart was focused on himself, not on God, and not on the people of Israel. Had Jehu been focused on what was best for the people of Israel, he would have removed the golden calves, he would have directed the people back to the worship of God, and when enemies came against him, he would have called out to God.
Lessons for Leaders
Jehu started out as a selfless leader obeying God’s commands. He stopped the worship of Baal. But before long, his zeal for power caused him to disobey God. He allowed the worship of the golden calves. His own heart was far from God.
Jehu never humbled himself, and never cried out to God, even as enemies came to overpower and take Israelite land.
He may have started as a selfless leader, but he became a hard-hearted selfish leader intent on maintaining his own position and power.
As leaders, we need to lead with humble hearts. We must recognize that pride is the enemy of a heart devoted to God. We cannot serve God and mammon!
Join the Conversation
As always, questions and comments are welcome. Why do you think so many people start out as selfless leaders but become selfish leaders once they experience some success?
I’d love your help. This blog is read primarily because of the people like you who share it with friends. Would you be kind enough to share it by pressing the share button?
Category: Personal Development | Obedience to God
