Proverbs 8.14-16
“I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly.”
What are the attributes of an effective leader? What are the distinguishing characteristics of those who are most successful at leading people, teams, and organizations? The Lord’s wisdom is personified here as Lady Wisdom, in direct contrast to the wicked woman of the two previous chapters.
Lady Wisdom tells us that she guides “all who govern justly,” and the leaders identified are “kings, rulers, princes, and nobles.” However, the attributes of wisdom-directed leadership that are listed in this passage apply to all who are in a position to lead: business executives, school administrators and teachers, athletic coaches, politicians, pastors, and mothers and fathers. If you want to be an effective leader in any arena, it is essential to be guided by the specific attributes of the Lord’s wisdom.
I challenge you to read this message slowly and carefully. It is easy — and terribly common — to refer to “wise leadership” without really knowing what we are saying. This passage spells out what it means to be a wisdom-directed leader. We are given very specific characteristics of God’s wisdom that apply to “all who govern justly.”
Before we look at the attributes of wisdom-directed leadership, let’s first establish what it means to “lead justly.” The Hebrew word for “justly” here is tsedek, and it means “rightness.” It means someone or something that operates “rightly,” that is, according to its intended design. Tsedek is closely tied to the idea of creating and maintaining order.
As we have seen previously in our study of scripture, according to God’s design there are three kinds of rightness/tsedek in leadership:
Moral rightness: this is character. There is a moral design to God’s universe. A true leader lives and leads in alignment with God’s moral standards.
Functional rightness: this is competence. There is an operational design to God’s universe. A true leader understands the functional realities of the organization they lead.
Relational rightness: this is connection. There is relational design to God’s universe. A true leader lives and leads in alignment with God’s interpersonal principles.
This is the kind of leadership we need in every sector of society. Leaders who honor God and seek his wisdom. Leaders who seek to operate by God’s standards. Leaders who “govern justly” and lead with character, competence, and connection. Leaders who pursue “rightness” morally, functionally, and relationally.
History and experience demonstrate what chaos emerge when a leader deviates from tsedek … that is, when a leader deviates from God’s design in one of more of the three dimensions of rightness.
Disorder is the principle of entropy in physics. All systems requires focused energy in order to operate, and ask they operate they expend energy. If the expended energy is not replaced (and replaced in the right way/time), then the system will move towards disorder/entropy.
Because of poor leadership in our society, we are experiencing moral entropy, functional entropy, and relational entropy at an increasing rate. The moral, functional, and relational dimensions of our society are decaying.
