Welcome to another week of the Transformational Leadership Series (TLS). Today, we will discuss Leading with Eternity in View. I have been privileged and blessed by GOD to work with and to be acquainted with persons that the world, by and large, consider Global Leaders. One of them just passed away on August 18, 2018. The photo collage above is me at Mr. Kofi Annan’s home in Geneva-Switzerland for his 75th birthday. There are many who remember him for “positions” held. Others remember him for his work ethic. How do you remember him and what lessons can his death teach us?
GOD APPRAISES LEADERS
I was on my way to the Western region of Ghana from Accra to give a seminar when the news of his death came to my attention. The question I found myself asking was, “how will his leadership be defined by history (i.e. the history of men and His-story as recorded by God?). The eternal God’s recollection of history is usually different from man’s recollection. Will it be said that what was achieved under his leadership was truly transformational and sustainable with far reaching consequences for Africa and the other regions of the world his leadership touched?”. But this post is not about Mr. Annan. It is about the readers of the TLS.
If you were to depart the earth today, what will society on earth and those you are given the privilege to lead remember me for? Even more importantly, for those of us who are believers in Christ, how will God and the cloud of witnesses review our time on earth? Would God be pleased he entrusted us with the measure of leadership influence he gave in our homes, spheres of influence and in general society? Will God greet us with :
“His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Matthew 25:23 (KJV)
OR
“His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant…” Matthew 25:26-30 (KJV)
When it’s time for performance appraisal/management, all leaders on earth will fall into one of the two categories above. If you left the world today, where would you fall? Author–ity comes from an author and the author will someday evaluate your performance and pass judgment for good or for evil.
Accountability mandates that leaders lead today as persons who will one day give account to the author of their author-ity in eternity.
It’d be great to hear the former and not the latter because the consequence of being the latter is unpleasant:
Matthew 25:28-30 (KJV)
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
CONSEQUENCE OF APPRISAL BY GOD
Rewards productivity but punishes unproductivity. Talents afford us influence. We are accountable for how we deploy that influence to make the talent multiply, decrease or stay the same. Notice the servant was not punished for depreciating the talent but for not increasing/appreciating it.
The word ‘talents’ come from the Greek word transliterated as ‘talanton’ and refers to that which can be weighted. It could be a sum of money weighing a talent and varying in different states and according to the changes in the laws regulating currency.[1]
Leadership is also weighted. There was once a leader called Belshazzar—a King in Babylon bereft of godly values which caused his to have lack in weight. One night as he was dishonoring the author/source of his author-ity, a judgement was given and written on the wall. It read thus:
Daniel 5:25-28 (NIV)
25 “This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN
26 “Here is what these words mean: Menee: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
27 Tekelf: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
28 Peresg: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
God evaluates or weighs those to whom he has entrusted influence, so transformational leaders must lead with eternity in view. Eternity does not exist in the future alone. Its exists now. Time was carved out of it. When God weighs leaders, and they are found wanting (fallen short of God’s standard of leadership), they lose their King-Doms i.e., they lose their kingship or leadership influence as well as their domain, dominion and jurisdiction. This is the lesson of both Daniel 5:25-28 and Matthew 25:28-30—both quoted above. On the other hand, leadership that is fruitful leads to promotion by God, establishment of kingship or leadership influence, and expansion of domain, dominion and jurisdiction.
Matthew 25:29 (AMPC) For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will be furnished richly so that he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have will be taken away.
CONCLUSION
And so, as we remember the life of Mr. Kofi Annan, let us also remember our own lives, the leadership sphere we have been placed in, the leadership influence we have been blessed with and how we are currently employing all the above in the service of God. If we lead with Him and His purposes as the focus, we will likely lead in a way that leads to us hearing, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord”.
PDF available below.
[1] The Attic talent was equal to 60 Attic minae or 6000 drachmae. A talent of silver in Israel weighed about 100 pounds (45 kg). A talent of gold in Israel weighed about 200 pounds (91 kg).
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