Proverbs 29.12
“If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked.”
Here it is again. Another proverb about leadership in government. The Lord understands the importance of leadership in organizations and in society. Leaders create the culture. Culture shapes and influences behavior. Behavior produces results. At Focus 3, we call it The Performance Pathway.
Leaders → Culture → Behavior = Results
Leadership is the triggering factor in the pathway. The health of a nation is determined by the effectiveness of its leaders, the strength of its culture, and the behavior of its people. Nothing impacts national health more powerfully than culture. Nothing impacts culture more powerfully than leadership.
To whom a leader listens matters greatly. If a leader listens to the wrong people, everyone suffers. A political leader must choose advisers wisely, because if the leader listens to lies, then there will be corruption throughout the administration and government, and it will negatively impact the nation. The wrong people around the leader will always corrupt the culture of the team and the collective character of the leadership.
The culture of the group begins with the character of the leaders. This is true in a business, a school, an athletic team, a church, or a nation. Therefore, leaders must speak truth and hear truth. Leaders must be people of character and integrity.
“Righteous lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right.” (Proverbs 16.13)
“Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.” (Proverbs 17.7)
“It is an abomination to kings to do evil, for the throne is established by righteousness.” (Proverbs 16.12)
Because of the influence and impact that leaders have, if they do not demand honesty and truth from their advisers, then dishonesty and corruption will proliferate.
Leaders exert influence by delegation. They choose and assign people to roles in their government that have similar morals and agendas, which greatly influences the character of that administration and thus the nation. A ruler that listens to lies will not hesitate to select people for posts who will flatter him with lies or be dishonest in other matters.
Leaders exert influence by invitation. Political officials who lead with integrity know their position of authority requires great care for accuracy and truthfulness in the way they operate. But when a political leader accepts dishonesty, then it invites corrupt people into their circle of influence. It encourages people with self-serving agendas to promote their programs by deceit or fraud.
Leaders exert influence by imitation. As children learn by watching parents or older siblings, so subordinates learn the importance of honesty by their leader’s example. If he accepts or tells lies, then they will follow his lead.
Leaders exert influence by association. Birds of a feather flock together. Once lying is tolerated or accepted, liars will congregate toward the source of opportunity and power. As sure as buzzards gather around a dead carcass, so will liars gather near a corrupt official. Men of truth hate liars, and liars hate men of truth, so political division will quickly occur.
The word of God says that a godly leader winnows the wicked from his presence and makes sure that lies and distortions will not be spoken to him as advice. We need to pray fervently that our leaders will be people who value truth rather than falsehood.
“A wise king scatters the wicked like wheat, then runs his threshing wheel over them.” (Proverbs 20.26)
