Godly Leadership

We were playing on the parallel ladder when it happened. I was in the fourth grade and enjoyed swinging on the bars, seeing how fast I could travel the length. An eighth grader who was small for his age came by. Suddenly he started pulling kids off the bars. At first, we all thought it was funny. Then one girl started to cry. So, I told him to stop.

He shoved me. I shoved him back. He took a swing at me. I punched him in the shoulder and told him to stop, again. But, it was too late. We were surrounded by kids yelling, “fight!” His friends were giving him advice on how and where to hit me. My friends were stunned that I was in a fight with an eighth grader. He took another swing at me, which I dodged, and I punched him in the forehead. He was ready to quit but his friends kept urging him on.

Suddenly I felt someone grab me from behind. A man, a teacher, had me by the arm, and another teacher had him by the arm. We were both dragged to the superintendent’s office.

The Superintendent was Mr. Larkin. I knew him from church as well as school. He was a Sunday School teacher and the chairman of Deacons at our church. I respected him because my parents, and everyone I knew, respected him. The other boy was terrified to go to his office. I knew he was a fair man who would listen to my side of the story. The only thing I was afraid of was that I knew he would tell my dad and if I got a swat here I would get another one at home.

We were separated and Mr. Larkin listened to both of us tell our stories. He talked to the teachers and brought in some other students including some of the boys who urged on the fight. He concluded that we had both been pushed into the fight and gave the older boy a swat because he was older and should have known better. Then he gave me a calm explanation why fighting is not a good way to settle differences and if it happened again there would be more punishment. I knew what he meant and promised that it would never happen again.

The lesson I learned that day was not about fighting. It was about leadership. The other boy was led by the mob and made poor decisions. I was led by Mr. Larkin and other godly men at church who taught me by example and by lessons from God’s Word that there were better ways to solve problems.

Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “And lead us not into temptation…” Godly leadership is positive leadership. It is leadership that points us away from the temptations of popular opinions of the crowd. Godly leadership points us to the truth of God’s Word that will work in our lives. Who are the Godly leaders in your life? Are you a Godly leader?

Bro. Robin