Be a Motivational Leader

If any leader is to command a following, he or she must accept responsibility. That’s one of the requirements of leadership.

“The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight” (Prov. 11:1).

“A fool’s mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul” (Prov. 18:7)

Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise” (Prov. 19:20).

“Whoever heeds correction shows prudence” (Prov. 15:5), but “he who hates correction will die” (v. 10).

“He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue” (Prov. 28:23).

actions comes back to roost on my own head. If I behave falsely toward myself or toward the people God has placed in my oversight, I wrong my own soul (Prov. 8:36). I cannot pass the buck to someone else to avoid my responsibility.

If I ignore what God tells me, I am the one responsible, and I will suffer the consequences. “If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer” (Prov. 9:12).

The US Navy has a saying: “It didn’t happen on my watch.” It means, “I wasn’t to blame. It was not my fault.” But when God speaks to me and shows me my sin, I had better listen. My heart is always deceitful. God is always true. The choice is mine: I can follow truth or deceit.

David’s prayer is our model. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23–24). God knows us. We flatter and justify ourselves and march blindly toward the brink of disaster; but God in His mercy brings the light of truth to jolt us to our senses.