Request your free, three-month trial to Tabletalk magazine. You’ll receive the print issue monthly and gain immediate digital access to decades of archives. This trial is risk-free. No credit card required.
Try Tabletalk NowAlready receive Tabletalk magazine every month?
Verify your email address to gain unlimited access.
Leaders want the respect of those who follow them. But can a leader continue to guide a group of people when he has lost their respect?
Only a few leaders have a lifelong record of popularity. Joshua was one who did. God chose him to lead Israel and carry out His plans after the death of Moses. Besides giving Joshua this position of leadership, the Lord caused the Israelites to respect and honor him. On the very day they crossed the Jordan, God “exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel” (4:14). Throughout his life, Joshua held unusual respect in the eyes of the Israelites, for he was used by God to bring about the fulfillment of many great promises.
Many people work hard to gain that kind of respect and success. Some try to procure it through illusion, power grabs, lies, and the like. These methods can make it appear as if they are in control, but their very efforts demonstrate they are not. The curtains always come apart and expose such a leader for what he is: a little person, inside and out.
But does a leader necessarily have to have the respect of his people? No, for there are times when good leaders lose respect without warrant and yet continue to lead. There are even times when close friends attack and even betray leaders, some to the point of death. Isaiah says that Christ “was despised, and we did not esteem Him” (Isa. 53:3). Jesus carried out His atonement in the midst of ridicule. His close friends shunned Him in cowardice, yet He fulfilled His mission with complete victory. They did not come around instantly, but slowly, even after His resurrection.
Jesus’ example should be an encouragement to us, for doing good is indeed wearisome in a world of misfits. Those closest to us can cease to respect us, even actively work against us. It is then that a leader must decide whether he will capitulate to God or to man—and that is only if the situation is clear. Conflict is often gray, for as Proverbs 27:6 says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
The loss of the ability to lead by one called to lead is extremely painful. Ostracism by friends may be more painful than death itself, as many psalms make clear. But the God-gifted leader knows these things from personal experience. He goes forward in spite of the risks to himself, determined to do God’s will though losing respect from those he loves most. The leader who can make it through this kind of dark night is the one who knows he is but a servant under the Lord’s authority and must please Him alone.
Wise leaders have at least a few wise followers. Wise followers will follow wise leaders. But first, there must be a Joshua, who fears God rather than man.