Being an effective leader in your sphere of influence is simply more than commanding results. A great leader is more people oriented than results oriented because leadership is about people not things. Great leaders will tell you that leadership is about nature and nurture, thus, regardless if a man was born a leader, he must learn to become a great leader. And great leaders always live sacrificial lives in order to be a better leaders.
Sacrifice is the very heart of leadership, in fact leadership is spelt SACRIFICE.
True leaders are aware of the need to continually sacrifice. However, the sacrifices people are willing to make for the good of others can take several forms. In leadership, the higher you go up the more sacrifices you’re required to make. The sacrifice it takes to reach the top is nothing compared to that required to sustain you.
The moment man STOPPED sacrificing his lust for the fruit of tree of knowledge of good and evil was the moment mankind fell.Man’s scepter of rulership was tied to his ability to sacrifice, so when the sacrifice stopped, the rulership was handed over to the devil. THE GRATER THE SACRIFICE, THE GREATER THE RESULTS.
Perhaps, you might have forgotten the key text for this series, Genesis 49:10. Today’s post will focus on Judah, and how the Scepter was passed from Jacob to him. Perhaps, you might have forgotten that Judah was the one that suggested selling Joseph as a slave. He later left his brothers, married a Canaanite and had three sons. Two of his sons died because of their evil acts. Along the line, he ended up having sexual relationship with his daughter-in-law after the death of his wife, and she later gave birth to two sons. So, when the Messiah wanted to come to this world, He came through no other tribe but that of Judah.Judah’s story is God’s grace in action because he made several mistakes that should have disqualified him, yet God chose him. Incase you think your past is too messed up for you to be used by God or peradventure you were once a leader who abused office, the grace of God is more than sufficient for you.In 1 Corinthians 6:12, Paul stated “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything”. As a leader, he emphasized the need for him to make certain sacrifices because although everything is lawful but not everything is profitable for him and God’s people. Paul was a man of prayer, anointed and graced yet he understood the principles of leadership and knew that sacrifice is necessity in order to sustain a man.
Leadership is an altar of sacrifice where you discover that you’re the sacrifice.
It was evident that Judah had leadership trait in him because he suggested making profit by selling Joseph and all his brothers yielded to his advice. A good leader might command results that will benefit him and few others out of their selfish ambitions, but a great leader would rather sacrifice himself than see his people suffer. There was something about Judah that God placed inside of him that his brothers could not explain. Although, he was the fourth son, yet he became authority and commanded results. Joseph and his brother did not part on good terms especially with Judah, but we would later discover that odd brothers later reconciled. Joseph was taught humility through his trails and Judah was taught the act of leadership and compassion.
When you see as God sees, you will discover that you’re not the only one with a purpose; even those who persecute you have divine assignments from God and the least you can do is forgive them and pray that they encounter God.
Judah and Joseph were separated for the assignments that lied ahead of them. Joseph was sold into slavery and was later imprisoned for his integrity while on the other hand, after Judah left his brothers, he suffer the loss of two sons, brought shame upon himself by having affair with his daughter-in-law. The process dealt with Joseph’s pride, helped him grow in his gift and taught him “mouth management”. Judah on the other hand gained heart of compassion and learnt the act of leadership.
God does not train His generals in the palace, He rather leads them to be trained in the wilderness. The wilderness experience is a training ground, not a prison.
Fast tract to Genesis 42, Joseph held Simeon captive as guarantee for the rest of his brothers to bring Benjamin to Egypt. This was a test of character because Joseph wanted to know if his brothers had changed for good. They all knew that Jacob loved Benjamin and it would be an almost impossible mission to make him release Benjamin.
We know that God is all powerful and also has His divine will. Often than not, when we approach Him regarding certain circumstances that seem impossible, our understanding of God will always be put to test. Many will think God will never do it because of the level of their relationship with him but only few truly know how to truly receive from Him.
So, Reuben being the first born offered the lives of his sons for that of Benjamin if he doesn’t bring him back but Jacob wouldn’t still release Benjamin. He did not care for the lives of his children, he would rather sacrifice them than himself if he failed. He did not understand that Jacob would never want to lose another son or grandson again.
We’ve been called to sacrifice our lives for others, but many today would rather sacrifice the lives of others for their.
Then came Judah, the man who had suffered the lost of 2 sons, broken but not destroyed, the only man that Jacob could relate with. A man with heart of sacrifice out of the love for his father. Judah did not offer lives for life, he spoke from a place of accountability and love for his father, siblings and their generations. These are the words of Judah “ I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life.
”Jacob loved all his sons, but did not trust everyone.
Judah knew his father’s fears because his heart had being broken twice over the loss of his sons and by this time he understood the acts of leadership. So, Jacob could not hold back Benjamin from Judah.
Do not be discouraged when your words are being tested, tests come only to establish your integrity as a leader. So, if your character does not match your words, you will be exposed.
In Genesis 43, Judah’s promises were put to test when Joseph set up the brother he loved most, Benjamin, in order to further test the characters of his brothers. At this point, Judah spoke out of his love for his father and how he could not bear to see him suffer again. He further pleaded with Joseph to allow Benjamin return to their father while be becomes his slave.He was willing to sacrifice his life so that their father could be reconnected with Benjamin. This is a shadow of what Christ later did because Jesus sacrificed Himself and was held captive by death but eventually conquered so that you and I can be reconnected back to God. Just like Abraham was stopped from sacrificing Isaac, there was also no need for Judah to be held captive but his character was put to test and he excelled.
A poor leader sacrifices others for himself, but a great leader sacrifices himself for others.
Judah became accountable for all his brothers especially Benjamin regardless of the outcome of their trip to Egypt. A good leader becomes accountable when outcome is positive, but a great leader becomes accountable even when the future is uncertain.Great leaders are not made on rosy days, they are rather made on days of adversaries. What separates a great leader from others isn’t the results he produces on rainy days but that which he produces during drought. It is easy to produce results on good days, the only results a man will never produce during drought is his true character.
Results only reveal your effectiveness as a leader, it is absence of results that reveals your character.
We have this misconception that leadership is all about being fierce, commanding results and taking territories but most times fail to understand the principles. In the book of Revelations, Jesus was referred to as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Lion signifies authority, Kingship, leadership, royalty, fierceness and power. John was excited when one of the Elders told him that the Lion of the tribe of Judah already conquered so He could open the scroll.But when the Lion of the tribe of Judah was revealed, John was shocked because he did not see a Lion, a lamb was rather presented before him.
The Lion of the tribe of Judah did not conquer by crushing his bones of his enemies, He rather conquered by being the sacrificial lamb. The greatest victories in the story of mankind all came as results of sacrifices of few so that others can reap the benefits.
The leader that will make the greatest impact is the one that makes the right kind of sacrifice. Both Reuben and Judah stepped up to make requests from their father but Judah was favored because he loved and understood his father. And having lost two sons, he knew the pain and heart of his father. So, he knew that trading lives for lives would never move any father that has lost a son. We’re all children of God, sons/daughters but some command more results than other not because God loves them more, but because their hearts are broken for what breaks God’s heart and they are burden bearers. These are men that would run with any vision God gives them regardless of the dangers that lie ahead and all they do comes from a place of love for God.
Making the right sacrifice is more important than the amount of sacrifices you make as a leader. Cain and Abel both sacrificed as priests but one was accepted and the other rejected.
In many meetings, we expect the Lion of tribe of Judah to come in with dramatic entrance roaring, but at times He comes with meekness and quietness as a Lamb. That is why noise is not the sign of power because when you truly know Him, you will discover that He is Lion-like Lamb and Lamb-like Lion like John Piper once said.It is good to give your resources for the advancement of God’s Kingdom, in fact there is nothing bad in being a sacrificial giver like Solomon. But most times, the sacrifice God requires is not Solomon’s, it is that of David. David was a man who was ready to die on battlefields so Israel could be free, he was willing to lay down his life for his father’s flock. There was no debate about it because that was his nature just like Judah who was ready to be Joseph’s slave so that Benjamin could be free. Today, we read and learn from the life of David, his style of leadership, his heart for God and people.
Giving a diamond to an hydrated man in the dessert is a form of sacrifice but not the right sacrifice. Diamond wouldn’t quench his thirst.
The greatest sacrifice you can give God and mankind is your life, not just your resources. Live to pour out your life into others and help people find their true potentials. Although, desperate times calls for desperate measures but a great leader will always the right decisions and sacrifices. It was the difficult situation that later revealed the heart of Judah, and that is the heart of a great leader. No wonder Jacob blessed him that his brothers would praise him because before this moment, there was nothing to be praised about him. That same trait was passed to a boy called David who was ready to sacrifice his life for others. And when God looked down to find a man after His heart, He found nobody but David. Leadership is about sacrifice, and sacrifice is not all about letting go of what is most precious to you because that which seems precious to you might not be the right sacrifice God needed. Jesus knew that the way to the crown is through the cross.