Welcome to my Thursday Leadership Today: Leadership and Fearing God.
Integity means a well-rounded character, OK? A car, a house, or a computer—anything complicated—needs to have integrity to work properly.
Firstly A person’s moral integrity works the same way. Every piece of a person’s character depends on the others. A mostly trustworthy person who regularly erupts in anger doesn’t have integrity. Neither does a mostly ethical man who cannot control his sexual appetite.
To have integrity, one must have complete character—with no major defects!
A well-rounded character is essential for leadership. If you want people to trust you, you have to show them you are trustworthy by leading them honestly. The world is starved for leaders with integrity—see my linked video on integrity and accountability.
Studies consistently show that traits like honesty and integrity sit at the top of the list of desired qualities.
Secendly: Yes, leadership depends on integrity. But integrity is built on the fear of the Lord. The church cannot expect to raise up leaders with integrity until it recovers robust teaching on the fear of God.
What does this say about business and its leaders? 2 brief examples: Job - "Is not your reverence your confidence, And the integrity of your ways your hope?" (Job 4:6) Job's integrity and his fear of the Lord are spoken of as if they were the same thing!
The book of Proverbs teaches us something of how the fear of the Lord helps us walk rightly. Prov. 3:7 instructs us, ‘do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil’.
Integrity and the fear of the Lord, then, have a deep and mysterious connection. In a sense, fearing God and walking in integrity are the same thing. In another sense, fearing God results in integrity. They are integrally related!
Thirdly: The inevitable danger of unaccountability I agree with the authors that the current integrity crisis in Western leadership is rooted in the absence of the fear of the Lord.
This, in turn, results in leaders and leadership that is unaccountable! When leaders do fall, their inner circle must fear God by holding them accountable.
Conversely, if a leader's inner circle does not fear God and does not hold them accountable, there will be an integrity gap.
Solid leadership should have a healthy fear of God. It requires both integrity and accountability.
-How would you define integrity? -How important is a strong character to your ability to follow a leader? -How do gaps in character affect leadership?
Thanks for joining me. Have an awesome Monday!