Suggested reading: 2 Chronicles 1-2

I did a bible reflection a few months ago, learning from Solomon about his first wishes to God when he was just made king after David. He asked God for wisdom to govern his people, instead of wealth or health or any selfish needs, which made God happy.

A few chapters later, this time in 2 Chronicles 1, we learn about the same story from another book of the Bible. What stands out to me this time is the response that Hiram, the king of Tyre, gave to Solomon after Solomon wrote to him for help in building God’s temple.

¹ Hiram king of Tyre replied by letter to Solomon:

“Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.”

¹² And Hiram added:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, endowed with intelligence and discernment, who will build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself.

The line that stood out to me is: “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.”

Read that again.

And again.

Dear readers, I don’t know if you’ve recently been given some leadership duties, whether that’s to lead people, teams, communities, or families. I am reflecting on this reading as a reminder that I have been chosen as a leader, not because I’m deserving to be a one, or that God wants to reward me, but because he needs someone to look after his people.

Solomon was very young (probably in his twenties), and he knew he was inexperienced to lead. However, he did not shy away from the task; instead, he asked God for wisdom to govern his people.

⁷ “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. ⁸ Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. ⁹ So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

1 Kings 3:7-9

May we as leaders remember that when we lead, we have the task of looking after God’s people. Let’s treat our teams, employees, families, the way we would treat God’s people. Let’s ask God for guidance and wisdom to govern. When we lead with our human brains, we can easily resort to anger, blame-games, and impatience. But through God, we will be able to make decisions that are are fair, just, and able to steer people to God’s ways.

Happy leading!