—————————————————————————–
This post is part of our Sunday Series titled “Articles of Faith.”
We investigate leadership lessons from the Bible.
See the whole series here. Published only on Sundays.
—————————————————————————–

When it comes to wisdom, nobody compares to King Solomon. He was given a gift of wisdom that no other man has, or will ever know.

But does that mean that he was an infallible leader? No, not at all!

Just because someone has wisdom, even to the extent that Solomon had, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they use it all the time. Nor does it mean that they never make mistakes. Nor does it mean that their cumulative mistakes don’t add up in a negative column, either.

In the story segment below borrowed from Hershey H. Friedman, Ph.D, in his Moral Leadership: Ancient Lessons for Modern Times, take a look at what the wise old Solomon did with some of his wisdom. Look for clues at to whether he showed signs of having a “positional leader” mindset or not. This is a mindset where someone looks for personal benefit from their position and builds power for the sake of selfish ambition or consumption.

See here what Friedman writes so well about Solomon and his appetites and where that takes him:

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

King Solomon

God appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked him to request anything that he wished. Solomon asked God for “an understanding heart” to judge the people and the ability to “distinguish between good and evil” (I Kings 3:9). Apparently, Solomon understood that a leader needs wisdom, compassion, and a sense of justice to succeed and noted that David, his father, walked before God with “truth and righteousness and with an upright heart” (I Kings 3:6).

Indeed, under Solomon’s reign, there was great prosperity and peace and his fame spread throughout the world.

Solomon spent seven years building the Temple in Jerusalem (I Kings 6:38). It was a huge undertaking and 70,000 people were needed to carry the burdens and 80,000 to hew the stones (I Kings 5:29). It took Solomon 13 years to build his own palace which was larger than the Temple (I Kings 7).

He then made himself a magnificent throne of ivory: “Nothing like it had ever been made for any of the kingdoms (I Kings 10:20). Solomon kept an enormous stable of horses and chariots — 1400 chariots and 12,000 riders (I Kings 10:26). In addition, Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. The cost of supporting such a vast household was obviously enormous and the people did eventually complain to Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and successor, about the heavy tax burdens.

Solomon was a great ruler who sowed the seeds of the dissolution of his empire and his kingdom was split into two after he died. Solomon’s blunder was that, as he got older, accumulating personal wealth became more important than building up his country. His love for foreign women caused him to accumulate a ridiculous number of wives (I Kings 11:1-4).

As Solomon himself noted, leaders need wisdom, understanding, righteousness, and truth to ensure the success of their reign. Wealth, fame, beautiful women, and incredible edifices are not what leadership is all about. God himself praised a young Solomon for choosing wisdom and justice over wealth, longevity, or power over his enemies (I Kings 3:10-11), but it seems that he forgot about his mission.

Leaders have to realize that the goal is to build up the organization (or country) one heads and to help one’s followers realize their potential, not to use one’s position for personal aggrandizement. Wealth and fame might be a byproduct of successful leadership, but are not its purpose.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

So, as a leader, how are you doing in looking at your leadership position in terms of organizational health? Are you using your position for personal gain, either slight or grand? How are your followers looking at how you are being a steward of your position. Would they say that you are being truly wise, or looking to add to your accumulated wealth? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

——————–
Tom Schulte is Executive Director of Linked 2 Leadership &
CEO of Recalibrate Professional Development in Atlanta, GA USA.
He can be reached at [email protected]

Image Sources: beaugrande.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• In ancient wall, scholar sees proof for Bible (seattletimes.nwsource.com)