FIVE ‘Ps’ THAT CAN MAKE OR MAR A LEADER

“Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amziah. He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored to Judahafter Amaziah rested with his ancestors. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, Just as his father Amaziah had done. He sought God during the days of Zachariah who instructed him in the fear of the Lord. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success. He went to war against the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabnet and Ashdod. He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines and against Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites. The Ammonites brought tributes to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the boarder of Egypt, because he had become very powerful. Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate and at the angle of the wall, and fortified them. He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hill and fertile lands, for he loved the soil. Uzziah had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officials. The total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2, 600. Under their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful force to support the kings against his enemies. Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmetcoat of armour, bows, and slingstones for the entire army. In Jerusalem he made devices invented for use on the towers and on the corner defences so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurls stones from the walls. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful. “But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest with eighty other outraged priests of the Lord followed him in; they confronted him and said, ‘It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honoured by the Lord God.’ Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him. King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house – leprous, and excluded from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the place of the land” (2 Chronicles 26:16-21).

Introduction

A leader is an imperfect human being going through a process of becoming as he leads. The great error in leadership is not the error committed by a leader but failure to learn from the error. No leader is immune against pitfalls. It takes a wise leader to fall into a pit and never to fall into the same there after. If you see a leader falling into the same pit now and then, he may soon be swallowed by the pit and never to come out again. Hence, leadership opportunity is gone. The best way to keep the leadership position you occupy is to continually learn from your mistakes never to repeat same so soon, depending on the mistakes committed. It depends on the nature of mistakes because; the only leader who will never commit mistakes is a leader who will never do new things. If a leader is doing new things mistakes are inevitable. Please be carried home and not to be carried away, I am talking about five “Ps” that can make or mar a leader. The five “Ps” were revealed to me by the great teacher, the Holy Spirit as I meditated on 2 Chronicles 26: 16-21. They are discussed accordingly thus:

PEOPLE

“Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amziah. He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored to Judah after Amaziah rested with his ancestors. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became and he reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, Just as his father Amaziah had done. He sought God during the days of Zachariah who instructed him in the fear of the Lord. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success” (2 Chronicles 26:1-5). People explains “any group of human beings, men or women or children collectively”. No leader can succeed without people. I would say that leadership failure may also occur as a result of the kind of people involved. There are good and bad people. People can be good and can be bad. Ojemola said that whenever there are people there will be problem there”. Wherever there are bad people, there will be problem. It should be submitted that the one who is using the people determines whether they are good or bad. If it is God that is in control of people’s heart, their attitudes would be good but if Satan is in control of people’s hearts, they would behave badly. The same people who lift up can pull down. People who praise today can crucify tomorrow. After the death of Amaziah, the people of Judah took Uzziah at age sixteen year old and made him king in place of his father. The people must have seen certain qualities in the life of Uzziah. God’s indirect way of choosing is using his people to choose from among his people those who will lead his people. Whether by election, selection or by appointment; God uses people. Particularly in the Church, people elect deacons and deaconess. God also uses Nominating Committee to select those who will anchor certain offices. God has made available people around us to make us. May our lives never be marred by people and may our lives be made by people in Jesus name. Nevertheless, my little experiences in pastoral leadership has uncovered that people are great instruments for leadership achievements if they are properly tutored and disciple.

POSITION

“Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, Just as his father Amaziah had done. He sought God during the days of Zachariah who instructed him in the fear of the Lord. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success. He went to war against the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabnet and Ashdod. He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines and against Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites. The Ammonites brought tributes to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the boarder of Egypt, because he had become very powerful (2 Chronicles 26:3-8). Position explains “a condition or position in which you find yourself”. It also describes “the post or function properly or customarily occupied or served by another”. Position explains a job in an organization”. Generally speaking, the enthronement of Uzziah exposes four things:
1. The age of Uzziah when he became King: “Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became and he reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem”.
2. The name of his mother and she comes from: “His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem”
3. The name of the prophet who instructed him: He sought God during the days of Zachariah who instructed him in the fear of the Lord. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success” (2 Chronicles 26:1-5).
4. The good works of his father. “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, Just as his father Amaziah had done”. People will not know certain things about you until you get to a position. An example is the reading of a person’s biography. Generally speaking, people like position, and that is why when people get to positions; they will not want to leave the positions. They want to die on the positions. The position one occupies determines the roles and responsibilities the occupier will perform. The roles a king will perform is same with the roles a governor will perform. The roles a pastor will perform is not same with the roles a deacon will perform. I would say that position is not as important as the responsibilities one would have to perform in that position. Uzziah maximized his position to win war against the Philistines, broke down the walls of Gath, Jabnet and Ashdod; and then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines and against Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites. Uzziah achieved greatly because he sought God during the days of Zachariah who instructed him in the fear of the Lord. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success. The success that he recorded brought him honour and fame. A position that is judiciously used can be a stepping stone to another better position. God expects everyone he puts in a position to accomplish for his purpose. Are you carrying out your responsibilities in the position you occupy or you are just occupying it for it sake. A barren leader has nothing to show for the position they occupy. They are not fruitful. Do you know that your achievement is tied to the kind of advisers that surround you and the kind of people you go to for counsel; how you process and allow God to lead you to do what will glorify him and not what will glorify man. Quick to remember is the case of King Rehoboam and the advisers of the elders and the young men. The elders, who served his father, advised him to give favourable answer to his people but Rehoboam rejected it. He accepted the counsel of the young men who grew up with him and made their yoke heavier than the yoke Solomon his father place on them (1 King 12: 1-15). The consequences of Rehoboam’s refusal to listen to the Israelites led to division, separation, rebellion and commotion and loss of life. No achievements recorded (1 Kings 12:16-24). When God is brushed aside people would take their sides.

POWER

“God helped him against the Philistines and against Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites. The Ammonites brought tributes to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the boarder of Egypt, because he had become very powerful” (2 Chronicles 26:7-9). “In Jerusalem he made devices invented for use on the towers and on the corner defenses so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurls stones from the walls. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful” (2 Chronicles 26: 15). As good as position is, position can intoxicate. The word “powerful” is from the word “power”. Powerful explains “having great power or force or potency or effect” or “strong enough to knock down or overwhelm”. Power is “the ability to act effectively”. Power is also referred to as authority, which means “the right to act”. John Dalberg-Acton said, “Power tend to corrupt, and absolute power corrupt absolutely”. So, Uzziah became powerful. Contextually, it means that he taught that he could do whatever he likes. He felt he did not need people’s help anymore. Power is not bad in its own. God gives us power to act rightly and the ability to be effective in whatever we do. A song says, “Satan shame on to you all power belong to Jesus, Satan shame on to you all power belong to our God”. Moreover, on the day of Pentecost, the disciples received power after the Holy Spirit came on them. Jesus said “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaritan, and to the ends of the earth Acts 1:8. This promise come to pass in Acts 2:1 so anyone who belongs to the camp of God is a person of power. This power is given for a purpose and to achieve a purpose in our lives (Acts 2:1-4). God is an epitome of power. He has all power. He demonstrated his power at read sea, at Jordan River, at Jericho wall. He demonstrated over the Egyptians, the Midianites, etc. God’s power is given to God’s people in order to help them in troubled times. Paul was grated anointed yet greatly buffeted Acts 19:20, 11-12; 2 Corinthians 1:8) whatever you are passing through don’t trust in yourself, trust in God, have faith in God, have testimony to share, change your orientation, pray (Psalms 55:16-18), be best assured of God’s power for you 72:12, trust God’s power which is in you, dive into God’s word, lay hold of your special promise Matt. 7:9-1 Eph. 3:20. 1. God’s power is given to God’s people for the manifestation of spiritual gifts 1 Cor. 12:6-11. God who gives Jesus, the only son can give you good gift. God’s gift to humanity (Jesus) is not limited to any ethnic group or tribe. Spiritual gifts are God’s power in the lives of His man. God’s gifts are given by God as He phases. All gifts are traced to the Holy Spirit. 2. God’s power is given to God’s people to obey and doing the will of God (Matt. 28:18-20). He are given the power and authority to obey and doing the work of missions and evangelism. There is power in a shared vision for God. It God vision we share in precreation Molly Turnover said “They are His. Its turn part of our obedience to bring to them here, we should also obey God in training, discipline our children. There the power in reaching out for God; there is power in working together with others. Illustrate Lydia’s pallet here, experience of missionaries It is high time to make God’s given power to work in our lives church and society. The power of God is not given for its sake but it is given to do His work. We should all arise, wake up and shake up the world through the work of missions and evangelism.

POSSESSION

“…He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines and against Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites. The Ammonites brought tributes to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the boarder of Egypt, because he had become very powerful. Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate and at the angle of the wall, and fortified them. He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hill and fertile lands, for he loved the soil. Uzziah had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officials. The total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2, 600. Under their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful force to support the kings against his enemies. Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmet, and coat of armour, bows, and slingstones for the entire army. In Jerusalem he made devices invented for use on the towers and on the corner defences so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurls stones from the walls. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful…” (2 Chronicles 26: 6-15). Out of the great wealth that Uzziah made, he built towers in Jerusalem, he built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns for his large livestock. He was an employer of labour because people were working for him in his field. Uzziah was blessed with Thousands of fighting men and he provided fighting weapons for his warriors. So, he became famous. Perhaps, his possessions led to his pride. The word “possession” explains the act of having and controlling property. Possession explains what one owned. Though, some Christians have been wealthy before they are elected or appointed to be church workers or church leaders, but position is usually a platform to acquire wealth or possession. Certain position can accelerate wealth acquisition while others may not. It is not a sin to possess possession; it becomes a sin when one allows possession to possess him or her. Or to replace the place of God. Church workers who are like Simon the sorcerer can use their money to buy the conscience of their leaders because to them everything is about money (Acts 8: 9-25). It is not impossible that some were made church workers because of their money. Two things would likely happen in a situation where a rich person is made a church worker. One, a wealthy man who is made a church worker may be proud, controlling and self-centered. The rich fool is a good example here (Luke 12: 16-21). Two, a wealthy man who was made a church worker may be humble and submit himself or herself to the leadership of the church leader. A good example is wealthy Dorcas who used her wealth to help the poor (Acts 9:32-43).

The Nature of the Battle Singles do Face

PRIDE

“But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest with eighty other outraged priests of the Lord followed him in; they confronted him and said, ‘It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honoured by the Lord God.’ Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him. King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house – leprous, and excluded from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the place of the land” (2 Chronicles 26:16-21). “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). Pride has the enablement to mar or make a leader. “Great leaders never see themselves better than the people they are trying to lead”. It seems to more dreadful if not handled sensibly. Pride can be used in two opposite ways. It can be used both negatively and positively to mean two different things.

Positive Usage –

a person can take pride in another person, maybe because of certain attributes the person possesses or the character he displays. Pride, in this context, simply means “delight in” something or somebody. For instance, the apostle Paul expressed his delight for the great concern demonstrated by the Corinthians. He said, “I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you, I am greatly encouraged; in our troubles my joy knows no bounds” (2 Corinthians 7:4). This type of “pride” is good.

Negative Usage –

the negative type of pride means boast, self-importance, self-esteem, to mention but few. God hates this kind of pride (Proverbs 8:13). He brings down the pride of the proud (Isaiah 25:11). What the Scripture says in Proverbs 16:18 that “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” manifested in the life of the king. The Scripture says: “But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest with eighty other outraged priests of the Lord followed him in; they confronted him and said, ‘It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. The above passage sheds some light on King Uzziah’s life before pride set in. He had a good relationship with God (vs. 1-5), by which God assisted him to make certain reforms. He had a well-trained army and God helped him against his enemies (vs. 6, 11-15). He was a great farmer (vs. 9-10). He was so famous that his fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful. The key message of God to you is that you must be watchful and careful when things are going well with you. When Uzziah became powerful, he ascribed his power to himself. Pride made him to neglect the Lord. As clearly indicated in verses sixteen to twenty-one above, the following are the consequences of pride in Uzziah’s life and ministry:

Pride led to his downfall:

“pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” Proverbs 16: 18). “But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest with eighty other outraged priests of the Lord followed him in; they confronted him and said, ‘It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense (2 Chronicles 26: 16).

Pride led him to be unfaithful to the Lord God:

“But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest with eighty other outraged priests of the Lord followed him in; they confronted him and said, ‘It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. (2 Chronicles 26: 16).

Pride led him to take up the priest’s responsibilities he ought not to take:

“But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest with eighty other outraged priests of the Lord followed him in; they confronted him and said, ‘It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense (2 Chronicles 26: 16).

Pride led to his public disgrace:

“Azariah the priest with eighty other outraged priests of the Lord followed him in; they confronted him and said, ‘It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honoured by the Lord God” ((2 Chronicles 26:17-18).

Pride led him to express unhealthy anger:

Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead (2 Chronicles 26: 19).

Pride led him to become a leper:

“When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him. King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house – leprous, and excluded from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the place of the land” (2 Chronicles 26:19-21).
Pride is a dangerous fox that Satan uses all the time. I hope you now fully understand that “pride actually goes before destruction”. Uzziah who was once powerful became powerless because of pride. What a terrible experience! This also brings to mind King Herod who died a terrible death because of pride (Matt. 2:19). If you want to retain the strength that the Lord has given you, which I pray you do, please do away with pride and pray that the Lord should give you the spirit of humility. It shall be well with you, in the name of Jesus Christ. One of my daily prayer points is that the Lord should inculcate in me the spirit of humility. He has been faithfully doing so. He will do it in your life, too. Yoruba Baptist Hymn says, “fun mi niwa pele, okan tutu, ifarabale bi t’oluwa mi, irele ohun suuru ati opo iyonu, ninu ohun gbogbo ki njo Jesu”.

ISAIAH VERSUS UZZIAH

As I was meditating on King Uzziah and what the Bible says, “in the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple… woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 6: 1-13). Prophet Isaiah prophesied during the reign of King Uzziah but something caught my attention. One, Isaiah was spiritually blind. Two, Isaiah was impure, and three, Isaiah operated under a closed heavens. Prophet Isaiah became blind and impure probably because King Uzziah dazed his life with wealth and that affected his ministerial assignment. The life style and the leadership methods of a leader truly determine, to a large extent, how far his followers will go and grow in life and ministry. Their talents, gifts, potentials, could be made redundant and their lives shipwrecked. I have learnt that I have create a plausible atmosphere that will facilitate accelerated growth, progressively connecting my followers to God, and that I should not be a leader who would set bad example for my followers. Do you know that what happened during the reign of Uzziah that made Isaiah to spiritually bankrupt is still happening today. Some people, Christians are under leaders whose lives are not accepted by God; and they are leading their followers to hell. I think it will be better for them if their leaders would have to die so that they can see the true God. The deaths of a few of church leaders in “Kokonbilo” Village orchestrated the deliverances of their followers from spiritual darkness when certain secretes about the evil deeds of their late leaders began to unfold.

Likely Leadership Pitfalls

• Pride: Many leaders allow their ‘Ps’ to ride on them. Pride means personality rides on you. Proverbs 16: 18. 2 Chronicles 26: 16-21
• Stopping Warming the “big pot of soup”: Failing to keep charging your brain. Leaders should study to show themselves approved (2 Timothy 2: 14-15). Willing to know and to learn more. A growing leader grows growing followers and turn them to disciples.
• Not “Walking the Walk”: this means not being a good model. Jesus did walk the walk.
• Doing it All Attitude: Not delegating or assigning people to carry out certain responsibility/task on one’s behalf or on behalf of the organization. Jesus sent the disciples to buy food in the town (John 4: 27-31). Delegation demands a lot of endeavor and it may be difficult for some leaders to delegate due to lack of trust in their team members. A leader who does not delegate would not have time for the “broader-view” he or she is responsible for. When a leader assigns people to carry out a task, he is developing them, lifting off his neck unnecessary burden. This is what Jethro counseled Moses to do (Exodus 18: 9-27).
• Lack of feedback:
• No or Lack of Clear Goal:
• Misinterpreting Motivation:
• Misunderstanding of Responsibility:
• Domestic Neglect:
• Over-Sensitivity:• Sexual Sin:
• Lack of Self Control:
• Not able to keep Personal Problem:
• Brushing Aside the Holy Spirit:

Avoiding of Leadership Pitfalls

Avoiding leadership pitfalls is a continuous efforts. • Keep God at the center of your leadership tasks
• Learn to humble Yourself
• Be ready to Apologise
• Obey God’s Instructions
• Keep learning, etc

Conclusion

People, position, pride, power and possession are five “ps” that make or mar the life of a person, whether as a leader or subordinate, church pastor or church members. When the five “ps” are properly managed, they are good weapons for greater achievements. William Feather said, “One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure- Poor, Full, and Idiot. This life, which had been the tomb of his virtue and of his honour, is but a walking shadow. No one is permanent in a position. Only what is permanent is what one is able to contribute to the growth of the organization, and that is speaks after the person has left the position. You are in that position to “fill what is empty and empty what is full and scratch where it itches”. “When a leader does not address the problem. The problem becomes the leader and the leader becomes the problem”