By Rev. Julius Izza Tabi
Friday, July 14, 2023
Trustworthy Leadership
“I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because these men were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their brothers” Nehemiah 13:13.*
The progress and prosperity of a given society and institution stands and falls on its leadership. One of the attributes which enables a leader to drive a society or an institution towards progress is trustworthiness. A trustworthy leader is thought to be reliable, dependable, honest, upright, principled, true, truthful and ethical. Leaders are stewards of the societal or institutional resources under their care. For a given society or institution to thrive, her leadership must be good stewards (trustworthy) of the resources under their care.
Upon the return of the remnants of Judah from exile under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah, there were series of reforms needed. One of it was to have in place the Levites perform their roles in the house of God as prescribed in the Law of Moses. The Levites who served in the Temple abandoned their responsibilities because the then leadership did not provide their portions of the tithes and offerings—the leaders were not trustworthy. So, the Levites had to resort to their fields to earn a living. Nehemiah had to cause reform in the leadership of the Temple by appointing trustworthy leaders to faithfully handle the tithe and offerings. Nehemiah writes;
“I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, one of the Levites, in charge of the storerooms. And I appointed Hanan son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah as their assistant. These men had an excellent reputation, and it was their job to make honest distributions to their fellow Levites” Nehemiah 13:13, NLT.
Nehemiah did this because he knew that unless leaders of excellent reputation (trustworthy leaders) were in place to handle the resource of the Temple, progress in the service of the Temple would be curtailed. This is no different from our time. For a good service delivery in our government ministries and agencies, the church and her institutions and other human institutions, there must be leaders of reputation. Leaders without reputation are fond of exploiting public or organizational resources from being rightly used. Nehemiah had to put in place men of repute who will truthfully distribute the Temple resources equitably for the intended beneficiaries. The famous scientist, Albert Einstein once remarked;
“Anyone who does not take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either”
Dear fellow leaders, God has entrusted us with huge responsibilities and demands that we should be trustworthy in our leadership. We must desist from diverting public or institutional resources for our personal gains. We do not have to abuse the human resource the Lord has given under our leadership. To whom much is given, much is expected. Let us lead with integrity. Let us commit to ensure that we are honest in our day-to-day businesses. My colleague leaders in the household of God, let us examine these attributes of a leader in the service of God as in the instruction of Paul to Titus;
“Appoint leaders in every town according to my instructions. As you select them, ask, “Is this man well-thought-of? Is he committed to his wife? Are his children believers? Do they respect him and stay out of trouble?” It’s important that a church leader, responsible for the affairs in God’s house, be looked up to—not pushy, not short-tempered, not a drunk, not a bully, not money-hungry. He must welcome people, be helpful, wise, fair, reverent, have a good grip on himself, and have a good grip on the Message, knowing how to use the truth to either spur people on in knowledge or stop them in their tracks if they oppose it” Titus 1:5, MSG.
A leader in the house of God is expected to be one of excellent repute. A trustworthy leader knows God, is a beacon of hope to his community, is a game changer and carries out great exploits for God. All leaders are called to be trustworthy. It requires discipline, self-control and the fear of the Lord to become a leader of excellent reputation. The urgency of trustworthy leadership demands your excellent reputation now, not tomorrow. God is in search of trustworthy leaders; will you be one?
Rev. J
*Unless indicated, all scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV), 1984.
Rev. Julius Izza Tabi is a priest in the Anglican Diocese of Ma’di-West Nile in Arua City, Northern Uganda. He is a PhD candidate at Uganda Christian University and holds a Master of Philosphy in Religion, Society and Global Issues from MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society. Julius is the Director of Uganda Christian University Arua Campus. He is married to Oliver and with their three children; Samuel, Shemuel, and Shalem, the live in Arua, Northwest of Uganda.
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