Hospitality
And at my table were one hundred and fifty Jews and rulers, besides those who came to us from the nations around us. Now that which was prepared daily was one ox and six choice sheep. Also fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine. Yet in spite of this I did not demand the governor’s provisions, because the bondage was heavy on this people. – Nehemiah 5:17-18
In continuation of our meditation on the leadership lessons derived from Nehemiah’s playbook, another instructive example we can learn from this gentleman is hospitality.
Much has been said and written about how prudent and disciplined Nehemiah was with state resources; how he restrained himself and his lieutenants from extorting the people by placing greater tax burdens on them than they currently bore under the Persian imperialism. We have also seen how he did not dip hand into the portion that belonged to his principal, king Artaxerxes, by whose goodwill he was governor of Judah.
However, our reference passage above also shed an entirely new light on the character of Nehemiah. He was hospitable and observed the diplomatic hospitalities that a frontline leader is required to do. Why is this lesson important? It is because he could have used his abstinence and moral rectitude in governance as an excuse for not being lavish in hospitality as required of him. Afterall, everyone knew he was not stealing from the state or taxing the people for money. But that was not Nehemiah. He did what was expected of him and fulfilled his diplomatic obligations without shirking them.
Having established that there are not so many leaders around who have the same moral fiber as Nehemiah had or rule with his sterling blamelessness. It is worthy of note that the few that exist may tend to veer towards the extreme of austerity and use their moral uprightness as an excuse for miserliness. This is usually the case with individuals who are self-righteous, it can get to a point where they use such as a whip to hold back themselves and prevent deserving people from enjoying from the commonwealth of the land. There is a thin line between self-righteousness and extremism.
Nehemiah, on his own part, was able to balance discipline with obligations. According to him, he hosted 150 leaders at his governor’s lodge on a daily basis, apart from rulers from neighboring nations who also visited from time to time. Now hosting tens of rulers is no mean feat, not to talk of hosting them in hundreds. And, more remarkable is the fact that Nehemiah was able to manage his earnings and resources well that he could do so comfortably without having to transfer the burden and make the people pay for it.
In his own words, “The provisions I paid for each day included one ox, six choice sheep or goats, and a large number of poultry. And every ten days we needed a large supply of all kinds of wine. Yet I refused to claim the governor’s food allowance because the people already carried a heavy burden” (Nehemiah 5:18, NLT).
What a man! What a ruler! What a leader! What a model!
You Will Succeed in Jesus Name!
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