“After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed. I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do.”
(Neh 7:1-3NIV)
When Nehemiah was governor of the land of Judah, he once needed to appoint someone over the city of Jerusalem. And interestingly, it was his brother, Hanani, that he appointed. But why did he appoint Hanani over Jerusalem? Was it because he was his brother? No! As the text above shows us, the reason Nehemiah appointed Hanani over Jerusalem was that he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do.
So, it was not because Nehemiah wanted to build a dynasty for his family that he put his brother over Jerusalem or because he merely wanted someone that would be loyal to him; rather, it was because the man was qualified for the job. Look, again, at what was said about him: “He was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do.”
More so, we see that this man, Hanani, was among those who first came to discuss the problems of the nation of Judah with Nehemiah, when he was still in Susa, serving as the cupbearer of King Artaxerxes (Neh 1:1-3). So, we are not just looking at a man of integrity and one who is equally godly; we are also looking at someone who had real concerns for the welfare of his people. And that is the kind of leader that can lead his people to an experience of prosperity, peace and satisfaction.
Unfortunately, in many places today, we don’t make people leaders because they are godly, competent, full of character and passionate about the welfare of others; rather, we make them leaders out of sentiments. Nothing is wrong, as we see in the case above, if we make our siblings, friends, neighbours or anybody that has one form or relationship or the other with us leaders in certain capacities, inasmuch as they have the character, competence and devotion that are needed for the positions in question. But if we make people who have no competence, character, fear of God or goodwill leaders or vote them into leadership positions only because they are related to us, have come from our town or region or have paid us to do so, we will certainly pay for it.
Why, for instance, is a country like Nigeria backward in many regards today? It is mostly because of our disposition towards leadership selection and election. We, even in our religious assemblies, are often not objective in choosing our leaders. Instead, we allow all kinds of foolish sentiments to override our sense of good judgment in choosing them. So, we end up having the worst among the worst to take charge of important offices and mess up with our present and our future. And until we all, starting with you and me, start looking at merits in appointing or electing our leaders, the reign of peace, justice, growth and prosperity we want for our land will never happen.
So, next time you are going to appoint or elect a leader anywhere, remember these things.
Copyright © 2020, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to alaythiabiblechurch@gmail.com/alaythia4all@gmail.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)
By: J.O. Lawal | Date: July 22, 2020 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 3, No. 10