3.181 Results of Selfishness in Leadership

In Matthew 5, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth and the light of the world, reminding us that our lives are meant to preserve, illuminate, and point others to him. This season on Savory Salt, we'll walk through the Old Testament, one verse and one thought each day. Perhaps these moments will add greater savor and brighter light to our lives as we seek to truly live as Savory Salt.

Hello, my friends. It is a new day with new opportunities. Choose this day whom you will serve.

Have you experienced a leader any time in your life where you know they're making decisions that benefit themselves rather than the people they lead? Maybe you've even been that leader at some point. I know I have.

Perhaps we can take a look at our readings and learn a little something from selfishness in leadership here. We are reading 1 Kings 12-13 as well as 17-22. Chapters 12 and 13 are a pivotal part of history when it comes to the children of Israel.

We have the formal separation of the ten tribes and the remaining two tribes. This is going to feed on to the lost ten tribes of Israel and all of these other historical phrases that we use to describe the separation that happens. And it happens in a very simple, small verse here.

But why it happens is the lesson that perhaps we could dive into. Let's take a look at our verse. See what it means for us as we take a look here: 1 Kings 12, verse 19. "So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day." Now that is a very short verse.

What started that? Well, we talked yesterday about Solomon's son continuing in his father's generational patterns and laying the burdens on the people so much so that they separate. But it's not just about this separation.

The separation is going to begin 200-plus years of Israel kind of just wandering. They're blending their world into worldly habits. They're blending their world into false gods and trying to kind of sort of live in the gospel and sort of not live in the gospel.

It's an interesting point in history. My friends, when we are given leadership positions or when leadership is thrust upon us, it is very difficult sometimes for us to see the choices ahead of us and not think of ourselves. And yet, leadership in and of itself is about trying to make sure that we're doing the decisions that are best for those that we lead.

Whether it's as simple as a leadership position in church, whether it's bishops, stake presidents, all the way up to political leaders, religious leaders, leadership implies the responsibility of taking care of those that you lead. Here we have an epic example of an epic failure of doing that. I know recently for me, I was faced with the decision to go one of two ways at work.

I think one of the ways would result in a benefit for me financially. The other way was the right thing to do for the client. And I wrestled with that.

And it is kind of sad to even think that I did wrestle with that. Ultimately, as we sat down as a team, of course, the decision for us was clear: We needed to do what was best for the client, not what was best for me or for the company financially. I can think back.

It had only just been recently, but I can think back to that conversation I had with the client, Javier R. R. Thank you for your honesty.

That was worth the moment. To be able to know that while I had the power to make the decision to go the other way and financially benefit from it, the right thing to do was to serve her. Now, don't get me wrong.

I don't do that every time and I'm not a perfect leader in any way. Thank you for watching. For today, my friends, you and I have come here for such a time as this.

Step forward in faith and let's be savory salt. We will be here tomorrow and we hope you are too.