What do godly leaders practice that set them apart from other leaders? Godly leaders may be observed in every walk of life: pastors, plumbers, farmers, homemakers, clerical assistants, medical professionals, executives, students, academicians. You name it; there are godly leaders in every sphere of life who make a difference.
I’ve observed a few common habits that godly leaders possess that I think separate them from the crowd. This is not a researched list of habits – just some commonalities that seem to occur as I have watched and listened.
Here are five habits. I’ll share five more in the next column. Godly leaders:
1. Face each day with a priority mindset. Jesus set the tone for this when He taught the Sermon on the Mount (specifically Matt. 6:34). Every day we have choices to make. Will we make those choices based on biblical priorities, or will we be victimized by whatever comes our way? Godly leaders measure their choices by considering that the Lord Jesus is the Lord of our days – not just Sundays. Consequently, the leader has little time to flirt with what God considers unholy behavior.
2. Make daily Bible reading and prayer indispensible in their lives. Godly leaders know they cannot live apart from the reality of Christ. Relationships are dependent on communications with the person you love. To experience the life of Christ, a believer must receive the Word of God and practice the privilege of prayer. No one can do that for you. To be the godly person the Lord wants you to be, you must establish a time for you meet daily with the Lord.
3. Hold wisdom in high regard. Wisdom views what is happening in life from the perspective of eternity. The only way to gain wisdom is through a proper response to life’s experiences. Godly people hold wisdom in high regard, as something that the riches of the world cannot buy. Godly people search for wisdom from God and from others. They are fearless in asking others for counsel and insight. Then by humbly receiving the wise counsel, godly leaders have the opportunity to make informed choices.
4. Are intentional about the message. Godly people really only have one message in life and everything else is stacked against that reality. The message is that there is one and only one way to God and that is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So you don’t talk with a godly man or woman very long until the conversation turns toward eternal truth and how it is impacting their life. Their conversation about the Gospel, like their life, guides their walk with the Lord.
5. Make “iron sharpens iron” a way of life. The godly leaders I know are participants in a network of godly leaders. Their network exists at the local church level or may be more global as a result of shared cell numbers or common conferences or the Internet. Godly leaders glean from each other, pray for each other, share stories and come to the rescue when needed. Isolated, independent leaders spend too much time protecting their insecurities. Authenticity is a companion to the man or woman who chooses to move toward relational vulnerability.