A Man of Who?

A Man of Who?
Author

Daniel Magnusson

Release Date

Monday, June 22, 2015

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I for one am tired of hearing “he” is a nice man. I am even more fed up of hearing that “he” is a man of God! A Man of who? Then why is “he” so indecisive and apparently weak in leadership?

There was a lot of talk of him being likened onto Moses, and that he is the saviour our nation so aptly needs at this time. But nearly 9 months in his appointed post, where he was given the most powerful mandate of the people, and elected as leader, what have we heard of significance from him? Absolutely Nothing!!

Let us consider some Biblical examples of men of God. Some people may deem it sacrilegious that I do this, but let us not forget that this man professes to be a man of God. Moses, who is recognised as a great leader had his rod, and Moses was not afraid to use it. He used it to soften up Pharaoh, and then to part the Red Sea to set the people of Israel free. Whereas, we will not deny the power of God behind Moses, Moses was still considered a decisive man. He was a man of actions.

David was but a mere boy when he put down Goliath. Annoyed that Goliath dared to mock his God, David faced the giant down. Let us also not forget, that David had a history of facing down bullies. The lions and bears he dispatched when they came after his sheep, were evidence of this. So with the Power of God behind him, Goliath was just another formality. David was decisive in how he put that stone to Goliath’s head.

We are not going to go too indepth into Sampson, because he was a bad boy! But needless to say, he was no pushover and was never hesitant when it came to using his great strength.

Elijah faced down the prophets of Baal. He ridiculed them, even to the point of taunting them, eventually putting the entire lot to the sword. His one moment of weakness was when he let Jessabelle frighten him with her “mouth”, but he soon received a new commission, served out his time, and appointed his successor.

Now, I know there are those who are proponents for the separation of church and state, and would say that a leader’s religious persuasion should not get in the way of his duties to country or state. But when one openly proclaims to be a Christian or a man of God, what is most important is how his religious persuasion dictates his character and behaviour. It is not about what he proclaims, as talk is cheap, but more profoundly about what he displays.

Strength of character, strength of convictions, firm decision making, and instilling discipline all bare the makings of a good leader. These are also some of the attributes of one who professes to be a man of God.

John the Baptist was described as a “voice crying out in the wilderness”. He proclaimed the Christ who was to come. John the Baptist was also a man who died for his convictions. John was initially locked up by Herod Antipas on the insistence of his wife Herodias. John was outspoken in his condemnation of the marriage of Herod and Herodias, Herodias being the ex-wife of Herod’s brother. Herodias wanted John killed, but Herod was indisposed to do so because he feared John. But eventually, Herod had to give way to the pressure of Herodias and her daughter, in keeping with his promise to give his step-daughter whatever she wanted for dancing so well. On the encouragement of her mother, she demanded and received the head of John the Baptist. But at least, John died for his convictions.

When Jesus walked the earth, his walk was an example for all those who came after to follow. Jesus was compassionate, he healed many sick, raised the dead, and fed multitudes. He was opinionated and spoke out against injustice, reserving special castigation for the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees. In his harshest criticisms of them, he likened them unto blind guides, white wash tombs, and broods of vipers. Additionally, when he found those using the temple for their illicit commerce, he overturned their tables and drove them out.

If one is to call themselves a Christian, and proclaim to live by the Bible, that person cannot act contrary to the teachings and expect to hold any credibility. It is not about going around preaching and proclaiming, or about religious observances, protocols and practices. Jesus challenged the Pharisees as to whether or not they would not pull their ox or their ass out the well if it fell in on the Sabbath (Luke 14:5).

Furthermore, this man of God took the office of Leader knowing full well that one of his required duties would be to attend to certain ceremonial duties that were also on the Sabbath. So how can he now decide when he is in office that he would not attend these ceremonies? He should not have taken the oath of office if it went so strongly against his conscience, and that he would not attend these ceremonies. That smacks of hypocrisy. Ultimately, being a Christian is about living a life of example, being decisive in one’s conviction and actions, meaning what one says and saying what one means.

The Bible is full of stories about leaders and leadership, good and bad, weak and strong. You only have to go through the book of Kings to identify these. Even some of the great Biblical leaders erred. David’s infidelity, and killing a man for his wife is a demonstration of his fallibility. However, once exposed, David offered no excuses nor sought to blame anyone else for his misgivings; he accepted that he had done wrong. This is yet another trait of a good leader, admitting when you are wrong. But in spite of his failure, David’s leadership was still one synonymous of strength and decisiveness.

Many modern day leaders around the world today are governed by their principles and convictions. President George Bush in all his numerous shortcomings was strong in convictions and decisive in his action. Wrongly or rightly, he convinced the senate that is was the correct thing to do and took the country into the Iraq war. He even convinced other world leader, including the UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to join in with him. President Bush, like him or hate him (and I was not particularly fond of him) can still be considered synonymous with strong leadership.

President Barak Obama held his nerve when the Republicans looked to shut the country down, and eventually they had to backpedal. The Republicans played chicken with President Obama and President Obama was not the one who flinched. President Obama was strong in his convictions and decisive in his action.

Political leaders do not have to be shady or dishonest to be effective. But politics is not a place for soft, weak and ineffectual individuals. Weak leaders are most often disrespected without concern and are often overthrown. I remember one Chief Minister’s office of tenure lasted from November 13th, 1996 to August 22nd, 1997. He was a nice guy as well. What amuses me most is that the nice guy who is in power now, was a great participant in the removal of the nice guy back then, and one of the main accusations he made back then was that he was too “nice”.

One can be a good person, but definitely not a “nice guy”. If one claims to be a man of God, one needs to live up to their convictions. 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV) says:

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Man of God, you need to start showing us who you really are … or are we already seeing who you are?

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