David was seen to be a leader, as he had demonstrated in military battle for his country. Now, in democratic procedure, the elders invited him to be their king. It was not his assertion for kingship, or right by conquest or birth, but because the people preferred him. He served for forty years, first in part of the tribes then for all, and became the historic national hero of Israel. Following the story carefully one finds illustration of the argument that the seat of effective leadership is in the natures of both followers and leaders. Can that leadership skill and inspiration to others be learned? Born of gifts, the leader, as the reluctant Moses and the energetic David would attest, provides orderly leadership that is successful only as the followers verify it. Good leadership can be made poor if the followers do not follow, and excellent if they do.
Leadership is vital to orderly life, especially in a free society where persons are not so bound by authoritarian controls. Substitutes for leadership do not work well for persons, groups or nations valuing equality. There are means to force persons to bend to the wills of autocrats or power brokers, but such managers, even if they are beneficent, may not be leaders. They may have leadership qualities, but manipulators and autocrats are functioning as task masters. Leaders function most effectively with authorization of followers. Authority is something that even God does not use without compelling cause in natural context. Jesus obviously left it to his hearers to decide on the one whom they would follow. The authoritarian may or may not have commendable motivation; may or may not have appropriate ends; and, may or may not have respect for the rights of individuals. One of the primary rights of individuals is to choose what they may do with their time-life, which includes the right to be free of exploitation. Exploitation is using other people, without their agreement, to accomplish ends. Exploitation is believed to be objectionable, even if the ends are useful and desired. Mankind needs to serve, under God, but servant-hood has its ideal in the will of the servant, so to be both free and serving.
It is clear from Scripture that God places high regard on the concept of leadership, and it falls to the challenge of any person to lead or follow. Nearly every person is both a leader and a follower, depending upon the context under consideration. Biblical accent is placed on leadership in families. Family integrity is vital to functioning society. This does not impinge upon the equality of the members of the family, but on the unity of rightness for the family in this or that situation. The leader inspires followership from the members of the family who have the free obligation to submit to proper leadership responsibilities and privileges. The best leader shares leadership so as to avoid tyranny and arrogance. There emerges something of a chain of command which, when well-ordered in a loving context, prevents either the autocracy of an individual, or a group. A major concern of the founding fathers of the United States was to design a government that would prevent dictatorship of the majority over the minority. Two houses of congress were determined. The Senate was based on two senators from every state no matter how large or small. The House of Representatives was based on population figures. The best leaders in Scripture were led by their integrity, wisdom, reason, respect for others, including God, and a spirit of love with humility. Not only are leaders held to account for their actions, but followers are also held to account in God’s order of things. The secret to effectiveness is learning how to function as leaders and followers. In using freedom as excuse for arrogance in followers the unity of society and the usefulness of leadership may be diluted or lost. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020