The Inspired Leader: 101 Biblical Reflections for Becoming a Person of Influence (34 page)

HISTORY CHRONICLES THE accomplishments of people who displayed courage. George Washington was famous for fearlessly charging into the fray of battle and yet miraculously never being wounded. He once commented, “I heard the bullets whistle, and, believe me, there is something charming in the sound.” Winston Churchill, no stranger to danger himself, fought in the Second Boer War as well as World War One. He once confessed, “There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at without result.”

The marketplace, like most fields of human endeavor, requires courage if one is to succeed. For those people of great courage, enormous possibilities may await. One of the toughest businessmen of his era was Henry Clay Frick. Standing only five feet two inches” tall, he was afraid of no man. Having partnered with another fiery five feet two inches tycoon in Andrew Carnegie, Frick was giving oversight to Carnegie Steel Company’s most modern steel plant at Homestead, PA, in 1892. Frick had informed the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers Union that its skilled workers would be required to take a 15% reduction in pay. A strike ensued. Determined to break the unions once and for all, Frick ordered in hundreds of Pinkerton detectives to protect the plant. Upon their arrival on July 6, shooting occurred that led to 13 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The militia had to be summoned to bring order to the strife-ridden mill. On July 23, while Frick was in a meeting in his office, Alexander Berkman, an anarchist, burst into Frick’s office and shot him twice in the neck and then began stabbing him with a knife. When the doctor arrived, Frick refused anesthesia while the bullets were being dislodged so he could better help the doctor locate them. Frick spent ten days in bed, during which time his newborn son died from the complications of his premature birth. His son’s funeral was August 4 and on August 5, Frick was back at work. Frick’s courage and toughness, not surprisingly, became legendary. He would go on to become an immensely wealthy man and develop an art collection that can still be viewed at his former Fifth Avenue home in Manhattan.

Courage is a character trait that is widely esteemed. Fear, is loathed. That is what makes the following statement so troubling, “
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”
(Psalm 111:10). For many, the very thought of being afraid of anything is anathema. Yet in our modern, liberalized culture, it appears particularly appalling to speak of “fearing” God. Yet Scripture repeatedly instructs us to do that very thing (Deuteronomy 4:10; 6:2; 28:58; Psalm 19:9; 34:9; 86:11; Matthew 10:28).

Our problem is that fear is always viewed as a negative, harmful experience. Yet it can also be lifesaving. Those who have no fear neglect to take precautions that could save their life. Those without fear may not fully recognize that they are mortal. Fearlessness is not the same as courage. We can demonstrate courage while we feel great fear. That’s what makes it courage.

But when we come before God and see Him as He truly is, it ought to cause us to fear for our finiteness as creatures and for our accountability to our eternal Creator for our sins. Fear of God humbles us and compels us to listen and obey. It reveals that we understand how far distant we are in nature from our Creator. And, in our fear, as we listen, and obey, we will inevitably gain wisdom, which only derives from having a proper, and reverent view of almighty God. Do you fear God enough to gain His wisdom?

REFLECT FOR A MOMENT

1. Do you fear God? If so, what is the evidence? How does your fear of God affect how you live? How does it determine how you relate to God? How has it impacted the way you became wise?
   

2. Do you struggle with the concept of fearing God? You may have been taught you should love God, but not fear Him. You may have assumed that fear was something people did in the Old Testament, but not today. If so, prayerfully study the Scripture passages that instruct you to fear the Lord. Let the Bible shape your beliefs and actions, not popular opinions.
   

3. Do you have a teachable spirit? Are you humble enough to learn from your mistakes as well as from Scripture? If you have not humbled yourself enough to fear God, you may not be humble enough to learn from Him either. Prayerfully ask the Lord to increase your humble, teachable spirit
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DESPITE THE NUMEROUS challenges the United States has faced throughout its history, its single greatest crisis undoubtedly was the Civil War. More soldiers were killed in that war than in any other conflict. The foundations of the republic were fiercely shaken during the national strife. Such a turbulent period called for outstanding leadership. It is no wonder that in asking historians to rate the performance of U.S. presidents, Abraham Lincoln is perennially ranked at the top. He overcame his nation’s most devastating crisis.

Doris Kearns Goodwin, in her Pulitzer-Prize winning book,
Team of Rivals,
analyzed Lincoln’s presidency and noted that his brilliance lay in his ability to enlist and utilize the outstanding leaders of his day for the nation’s cause. While Lincoln ultimately made the final decision, he enlisted the best thinking available to him. Lincoln explained, “We needed the strongest men of the party in the cabinet…I looked the party over and concluded that these were the very strongest men. Then I had no right to deprive the country of their services”(319). Several of the men in his cabinet had run against him for the presidential nomination and thought they were better suited to lead than was Lincoln. At least one of the men had openly mocked Lincoln before he had become president. Nevertheless, Lincoln conscripted his previous opponents and critics and wielded them into an unbeatable team.

General Eisenhower operated by the principle, “Make no mistakes in a hurry.” He understood that, as a leader, his mistakes would cost others much more than it would cost himself. He could not afford to be careless or unprepared with others’ lives.

The writer of Proverbs sagely observed, “
Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety”
(Proverbs 11:14). One of the means God uses to speak to us is by providing counselors who can offer us wise advice. There are, of course, several prerequisites if we are to benefit from counselors. First, we must enlist godly advisers. Such people rarely offer their services unsolicited. Second, we must be prepared to hear things we find unpleasant. John Gardner noted, “Pity the leader who is caught between unloving critics and uncritical lovers.” Third, we must cultivate the ability to recognize good advice. King Rehoboam had not one, but two sets of counselors (1 Kings 12:1-20). Unfortunately for him, and his kingdom, Rehoboam could not distinguish between good and bad advice. Being unable to recognize godly advice places us in the same position as those who have none. Finally, we must accept and follow wise counsel. The most brilliant insights will avail us nothing if we do not act on them. Even King Solomon, who was himself a brilliant leader, failed to follow his own counsel, and he and his descendants suffered grievously as a result (1 Kings 11).

Wise leaders conscientiously and fervently enlist godly counselors to walk with them. Such leaders invite their advisors to be brutally honest. They would rather know the truth about their situation than be merely affirmed by their fawning associates. Godly leaders also walk closely with the Lord so they are in the best position to recognize when God speaks through one of their colleagues. We live in a complex and rapidly changing world. The stakes are high and the penalty for fools even higher. It behooves us to seek wisdom, wherever it may be found.

REFLECT FOR A MOMENT

1. How would you rate the caliber of your advisors? Have you gathered top-notch people around you who can offer you outstanding counsel? If you have not, take action now to gather advisors who can help you in areas in which you need advice.
   

2. Can you receive unwelcome counsel? Do you accept advice well? If you become defensive or argumentative, people will not tell you what you need to hear. Ask trusted friends their candid opinions of how teachable and receptive you are to other’s advice. Their answers might surprise you!
   

3. Are you walking closely enough with the Lord that you would recognize His voice if He spoke through one of your friends? Be sure you are walking closely enough with the Lord that you recognize a word from the Lord when you receive one!
   

HIS VERY BIRTH was unfortunate. It came on “Mausoleum Day,” the day solemnly remembered each year when his great-grandfather, Albert, died of typhoid. Yet on December 14, 1895, Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George of York was born. At his birth, expectations for his future appeared modest. His great-grandmother, Victoria, still sat upon the throne in her sixty-year reign. His grandfather Edward continued to wait into his fifties for his turn to assume the throne. Edward’s oldest son, Edward, had died prematurely, thus putting his younger brother George in line for the throne. George had two sons. The eldest was Edward, who would one day become king. The second son, like many second sons throughout Europe, would grow up in the shadow of his older sibling destined to one day be the heir to the family fortune. To make matters worse, Albert (or Bertie, as he was called), suffered from an almost debilitating stammer. While his brother Edward was a charming and eloquent public speaker, Bertie struggled painfully to pronounce certain words and dreaded having to make public speeches. His father had little patience for his son’s stammer, and would impatiently yell, “Get it out,” to only humiliate him further. Bertie also had the misfortune of being left-handed, which at that time, was considered abnormal. He was therefore forced to learn to write with his right hand. He was also knock-kneed and, as a remedy, forced to wear painful braces on his legs for several hours each day.