The group you lead becomes a part of you! Their worries become yours! Their concerns become your concern! A leader wants the best for all his people.
He wants them to do well so that they can rejoice together.
If your child’s examination results are great, you are unable to rejoice when the other person’s child has failed.
If your marriage is working, your happiness is not complete unless your friend’s marriage is also working.
A good leader usually wishes that his followers are blessed with the blessings he enjoys.
Lessons
● Jacob had twelve sons and lost Joseph to slavery.
Even though after Joseph was lost, Jacob still had eleven sons, he could not rejoice.
He mourned for days and they tried to comfort him.
Jacob knew that no one wins unless we all win.
When we all win, our joy in indeed multiplied.
And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning.
Thus his father wept for him.
And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard. Genesis 37:33-36
● Jesus taught about the shepherd who left the ninety-nine sheep to seek for the lost one.
You would have thought that a shepherd who loses only one sheep out of a hundred would be unconcerned and carry on with the ninety-nine. Not so!
How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray; Matthew 18:12,13.
● Jesus taught about the woman who swept the entire house to find one lost coin.
I am sure many of you can relate to that.
The lost coin just makes what is left incomplete!
Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? Luke 15:8.
● Jesus taught about the prodigal son’s father who had one son but waited hopefully for the prodigal son to return.
The bible says that on the day the prodigal son returned, the father saw him from a distance.
This is what happens when you long for, look forward to and have great expectations for the return of a lost one.
The father wanted both sons around for his joy to be full. No matter what this son had done, the father was so happy to have him back that he organised a big party to celebrate his return.
For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.
And they began to be merry; Luke 15:24.
● Jesus taught about the banquet that did not begin until all of the seats were taken.
When it was time for this banquet, the master of the house was unhappy when his invited guests declined to attend, giving various excuses.
“The fewer the merrier” did not apply here.
He had prepared a feast for many and the seats had to be filled.
Eventually, he brought in people he had not originally invited so that the seats would be taken.
…Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled; Luke 14:21-23.
A leader usually has an aim or a goal he tries to achieve.
His followers look forward to achieving those dreams too.
However, if upon realisation of the collective goal, some people are in unfortunate circumstances, the joy of the group is curtailed.
Do not entertain bad thoughts about your leader.
He has great plans for you because he knows that nobody wins until we all win!
May this be our heart and attitude as we carry on by the grace of God! May we all win!
The writer is the founder of the Lighthouse Group of churches.
E-mail: theaol@ymail.com
