The Art Of Leadership
Would it not be such a blessing if we were all full of virtue? But what is virtue? Virtue is the quality of doing what is good and right and avoiding wrong. Virtue is, in effect, goodness. Thus, a good leader has the virtue of doing what is good. Being good and doing what is right is a battle for all human beings, yet a leader works hard at it. Can you fight hard to be good? Can you fight to do right and avoid wrong?
Lessons On Virtue (Goodness)
- Virtue is a positive trait that makes a leader abhor evil. A virtuous person is full of goodness, righteousness and has strong morals. Dear leader, you can be full of virtue. A good leader detests evil and works hard to do right. This is what the verse below encourages us to do:
“… Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is GOOD” (Romans 12:9).
- Virtue (goodness) is the trait that prevents a person from randomly following after the opposite sex. Ruth was a virtuous woman. She refused to follow after young men, whether poor or rich. She was concerned about doing what is right. That was why she sought the counsel of Naomi. Good counsel won her the description, “thou art a virtuous woman”. A leader may not do well because he follows after the opposite sex and is destroyed by many enchantments, pleasures and deceptions.
“And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as THOU FOLLOWEDST NOT YOUNG MEN, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that THOU ART A VIRTUOUS WOMAN” (Ruth 3:10-11).
- Virtue (goodness) is the personal trait that makes a person genuinely helpful. Virtue makes you do good to people and not evil. A virtuous woman does good to her husband and not evil. Without virtue a beautiful woman is a useless object moving around. The Bible says beauty is vain. It is only when virtue comes into a female that she does good to a man. Many women do evil to their men because they lack virtue. Note that virtue is very different from beauty. Beauty is useless but virtue is valuable, the Bible says.
“Who can find a VIRTUOUS WOMAN? For her price is far above rubies… SHE WILL DO HIM GOOD and not evil all the days of her life” (Proverbs 31:10).
When a person does good to another, he will be rewarded. Rewards for doing good and not evil to the other person are what make a leader become an outstanding one. Are you a leader? Are you doing good to those you lead?
- Virtue is the positive trait that makes a leader hardworking, energetic and enterprising. The only person described as virtuous in the Bible is the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31. Her main characteristics were hard work and lots of industrious activity. She would rise up early, and she would gird up her loins and make things happen for the whole household.
Clearly, virtue is as a result of hard work. This cannot be said of beautiful women whose principal achievement is to dress up and make themselves look more and more artificial. Their beauty is a façade and a cover up for their emptiness. Their enhanced appearance is a sign of the level of deception you must expect from such non-virtuous characters.
You will have the greatest shocks when you are married to someone who has no virtue. You will be met by laziness, inaction and inactivity. You will also be met by poor provision of food, sex and anything that doesn’t happen in the public eye. You will notice how the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 goes around working hard and makes everyone in her household have what they need. She is more concerned about meeting the needs of her household than impressing outsiders. A virtuous woman is full of truth, reality and genuineness.
A leader who has this trait will be hardworking, energetic and enterprising. He will rise early and make things happen for his followers. He will work hard and make sure that his followers have what they need. He will do them good all the days of his life and serve his followers in truth. May you be such a leader!
Doing what is good and right will always lead to abundance. Virtue is a positive trait that will turn a leader into an exemplary one. May we continue to pray that virtue be characteristic of every leader!
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By Dag Heward-Mills