“The king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem — the priests and the Levites, and all the people great and small. And he read in their Hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord.”
2 Chronicles 34:30
To sustain the reforms, Josiah knew that all the people must hear the word of God — small and great. Everyone must participate in following the Lord lest their be a faction who infect others with their disobedience. After the reading Josiah made a public commitment to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and he called all the people do the same.
Renewal can begin with one leader but it is only sustained through the commitment of all the people. This is where leadership is critical. A good leader must lead by example. He must be the best role model of what he is calling others to do. To be a good role model one has to be public with his life and commitment. Thus the nature of a leader is often more public than the norm, but with good purpose. It is not so everyone can know your business, but so that everyone can see your example. They need to see that you are living the word of God — that you love and seek God with all your heart; that you love your neighbor as yourself; that you love your wife, and raise your children in the Lord; that you are generous and kind and honest; that you are a man of your word.
Being a role model however, is just the start. As a leader you must call the people toward godly living. You must call those whom God has given you to live holy lives, pleasing God in every area. The call must be clear and total. There are no half committed people in the kingdom of God. One is either fully committed to living his life in love and obedience toward God or he is just a hearer only. What one person does will affect the whole, therefore the whole must be moving together in purposeful commitment, in covenant agreement with God and with one another. Let each of us be our brother’s keeper and become good role models for those who are looking up at us as leaders.
Stop and ask the Lord if there is any area of your life in which you are not a good role model. Do those you lead see you as a good husband, a good father, an honest man with money, a man of his word who is living a good life for God? Take a moment to reflect on these questions. Ask you spouse to lovingly speak into your life if he/she sees a weakness in you.
