Nehemiah’s Leadership Playbook: The Fear of God

The Fear of God

But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of God. – Nehemiah 5:15

Another example we can learn from Nehemiah is how not to lead. While the previous meditations we have done so far on his exemplary leadership attributes have focused mostly on what he did, we can also infer a lot of lessons from him on what not to do in leadership. The passage above is one example of that.

In an era where authoritarian leaders who wielded a strong reign of power with repressive hold on the subjects who were seen as living only to serve the whims of the lords was rife, Nehemiah could have chosen to follow that popular path, but he chose differently. He was a lone journeyman on the path of servant leadership. Rather than benefitting from the toil of his subjects, he was content with his own means and did not place extra burdens on them for his needs.

Tellingly, he contrasted himself from his predecessors and contemporaries who “laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides forty pieces of silver. Even their assistants took advantage of the people” [New Living Translation]. With this sharp comparison, Nehemiah not just distinguished himself as a people’s champion, a selfless leader and a universal model, he also showed us how not to rule.

Some of the lessons he taught us in that regard include never to extort the people or place a burden on them for personal gains. He also admonished leaders who allowed their lieutenants to have a free rein at oppressing and making life miserable the people. He did not just cite this as an anomaly, he buttressed that by sharing with us in an earlier passage how his own assistants joined him in refraining from taking portions from the people in the name of leadership (Nehemiah 5:14).

He then shared the secret behind his resolve as the fear of God. This was what made him stand out as a leader and different from the other people holding such title in his time. The fear of God was his guiding principle that helped him decide what to do and not do since he knew God was watching. The big question is, in our contemporary society where there is so much religiosity going on and a preponderance of faith-based events which are often patronized by leaders of all kinds, how many of such leaders who go to church and attend religious events lead as Nehemiah led?

You Will Succeed in Jesus Name!

Also read:

• Nehemiah’s Leadership Playbook: Altruism (2)
• Love in A Paper Bag
• A Miracle as Though It Came off the Pages of the Bible