led well
Integrity and skill - Psalm 78:56-72
Great leadership is rare. As we look around the world today, there are not many countries that are led well.
As the psalmist looks back at Hebrew history, there wasn’t much good leadership around. It was a story of rebellion against God: ‘traitors – crooked as a corkscrew’ (v.57, MSG).
God was looking for a man after his own heart. God led the people like a shepherd: ‘Then he led his people out like sheep, took his flock safely through the wilderness. He took good care of them; they had nothing to fear’ (v.52–53, MSG).
Eventually, he found David, a rare example in the Old Testament of great (though not perfect) leadership: ‘He chose David his servant… to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with the integrity of heart; with skillful hands, he led them’ (v.70–72).
David had the experience of being a shepherd in the literal sense. God ‘took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep’ (v.70). He used these skills to be a shepherd also in the metaphorical sense of the leader and pastor of God’s people:
The integrity of the heart. ‘Integrity’ is the opposite of ‘hypocrisy’. The word integrity comes from the Latin integer meaning ‘whole’. It describes an undivided life, a ‘wholeness’ that comes from qualities such as honesty and consistency of character. It means acting according to the values, beliefs, and principles we claim to hold. The pastoral care of God’s people must be done with the integrity of the heart. This is the most important characteristic. People said of Jesus, ‘we know you are a man of integrity’ (Mark 12:14). Many leaders have reflected on the importance of integrity in their role: Former US President Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Western Europe during World War II said, ‘The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is… on a football field, in an army, or in an office.’
Skillful hands. David was a skillful shepherd. He had learned to protect the flock with his sling. He went on to lead the people of Israel with great skill. There are leadership skills to be learned. We learn these skills through watching and following good examples, listening to the wisdom of others, asking questions of those we admire, learning together with our peers, and, above all, through practice.
