The Art of Leadership By Dag Heward-Mills
God blesses each person with some abilities. We discover in life that God has blessed each of us with the abilities to achieve certain things. Unfortunately, those whose minds do not have the latitude to comprehend the good that will come out of the things life gives them, are continually discontent and fail to receive God’s blessings through the humble things of their lives. Instead of being content with what God has given them, they are constantly out and about following things which yield very little fruit. They go out chasing fantasies and things that will not profit them.
- A good leader does not waste the good seasons of life. He is not a waster of the good seasons of his life.
Pharaoh had a dream about seven fat cows and seven lean ones. In the dream, he saw seven fat cows come out to graze. Suddenly, seven other extremely lean ones came out of the water and ate up the fat cows (Genesis 41:1-4).
Joseph, who was then a prisoner, explained to the King that the seven lean cows stood for years of poverty and the seven fat cows, for years of prosperity. God advised Pharaoh through Joseph to store food during the times of plenty, so that he and the whole of Egypt would survive the lean years. This is wisdom from God.
Many old men look like they never had any wealth. It is possible that many of them did not take advantage of their seven fat cows. My father was a very good lawyer, who handled many cases in court for several years. Through his hard work, he became rich and famous – those were his fat cow years. Later, he was taken seriously ill, and kept going in and out of hospital. But he had other investments which he reaped from in his later years. If you do not learn to save and invest during your fat cow years, the lean cow years will suddenly overtake you, leaving you with nothing but faint memories of the past.
- A good leader does not “waste” the good fathers given to him by God. He does not waste the good fathers and mothers that God has given him.
Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth
Ephesians 6:2-3
It will do you a world of good to value the fathers and mothers God has provided for you. The absence of a father or a mother has untold effects on children. Unfortunately, mothers and fathers are often valued only after they are dead.
I once noticed a man carrying a huge wreath on board a flight from Amsterdam to Accra. It was the most beautiful set of flowers I had ever seen. It was so big that he had to put it on one of the empty seats and buckle it up with a seat belt. He was apparently on his way to bury his mother. I wondered if he had bought such flowers for her when she was alive. I also wondered if he had visited her when she was alive.
We must place value on people and things while we have them with us, or we will live to regret it. The principle of valuation teaches us to value what we have, so that we treat it with care and benefit from it.
- A good leader does not waste the good wife God has given him. Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.
Proverbs 31:10
Many unsuccessful men have wives behind the scenes who fight and oppose them. The presence of an evil woman in a man’s life can be so devastating. It is when you see a non virtuous woman in action that you understand the value of a virtuous woman. The virtuous woman is very valuable because there are not many genuinely virtuous women. Remember that a high demand with a low supply is what raises the prices of anything. The low supply of virtuous women is what has raised her price above rubies!
Everybody’s life has seven “lean cows” and seven “fat cows”. The days of the seven fat cows will come! So will the days of the seven lean cows! There are always going to be seven lean cows and seven fat cows, and the lean ones will always eat the fat ones. That means that there is a period when things will be good. So make the most of it by storing up for the “rainy day”. If you save in those years, when the lean years come, you won’t ‘go-a-begging’. The seven lean cows always eat up the seven fat ones, so if you are not wise during your prosperous season the lean season will be a horror to you. Dear leader, do not waste your God-given blessings!
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