Lead by Example

David L Lamon | November 16, 2009

11/16/2009

Lead by Example

David L Lamon

Walk the Talk

I think most everyone would agree what we see in the leadership of this country from our two-party system with one head is a lot talk and advice about how we are to live our lives. But at the same time this same advice is not exercised in the lives of those that give it. Our leadership in government and in many of the churches live by the “do as I say not as I do” mantra or words with no effect. I say with no effect because of the “trickle down” theory comes into play after it becomes obvious the only effect is sweet sounding words with no action. As a result we find ourselves with the mindset I mentioned in a recent article if you can’t lick em’ join em’. We have become a nation of horrific lawlessness.” One of the main reasons is when the state becomes the violator of liberty and property rather than its guarantor; it debases respect for all law. People in society develop an increasing disrespect and disregard for what the law demands. They view the law as the agent for immorality in the form of legalized plunder for the benefit of some at the expense of others, and this same disrespect and disregard sooner or later starts to creep into dealings between individuals (trickle-down theory). Society verges on the brink of lawlessness. Stop and think, when individuals began to ask government to do things for them, rather than merely to secure rights and property, they began asking government to violate others rights and property for their benefit. However, it might be wise to consider what some of our founding fathers cautioned against; Thomas Jefferson said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be.” Ben Franklin warned; “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety (security) deserve neither liberty nor safety (security).” If a nation values anything more than its freedom, it will lose it says William Somerset Maughm. Furthermore, if its comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too. For a biblical view of this trickle-down effect on society read the following example.

Hearing and Not Doing Ezekiel 33: 30-33

As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord. So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. And when this comes to pass-surely it will come-then they will know that a prophet has been among them. Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: This is re-emphasized in the New Testament; Matthew 15:8-9 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Some might ask what does this have to do with people running the government because this seems to be directed at church leaders. While that is true, it should have everything to do with those running the government because this false teaching of separating church from state is a virtual impossibility. It is a good and evil thing and the one conflict with the other on a continual basis. For example, it is the churches that oppose gay marriage and it is because of this it ends up guess where, in the courts of political opinion. So you see there is no such thing as separation of church and state as it is now taught. George Washington told us “Do not let anyone claim to be a true American if they ever attempt to remove religion from politics.”

It is our choice

If “we the people” would put the right people in positions of authority they would govern their own lives by these precepts that follow line upon line. When the day came for God to choose men to lead the people the right way it was so done with the purpose he could abundantly bless them. It was always a man that loved and worshipped God or simply put had sensitivity to his spirit so the flow of communications wouldn’t be interrupted. These men not only looked after the spiritual but also were charged with the affairs of the natural everyday living meaning we need these kinds of leaders in Washington. An example of what is wrong today is we have a president that has emphasized everything needs to be done from the bottom up instead of from the top down. This lack of understanding only serves to bring down the nation. It means from this perspective everything that is wrong in America is because of “we the people” instead of taking responsibility for their own leadership’s actions. In other words, in their own eyes they can do no wrong. I might add here this defines the liberal better than any single thing. Have we not heard this since the Democrats gained control of all positions of authority in government? Isn’t their message one of we better know how to do your thinking and spend your money better than you do? Haven’t they responded to our protest tea parties etc. with name calling such Astroturf and ignorant bigoted hate mongers? The reason we need change we can believe in as in sold out to God and his righteousness, born again meaning spirit-filled Christian leadership is because the majority of the people fall into the sheep category and will follow what the leaders provide as an example. I don’t mean this in a derogatory way nevertheless it is true ignorance begets ignorance! In the end we are only faced with this fact, only chaos in a society will prevail. Romans 10:3 for they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. What is left is to throw up your hands and admit; 1 Corinthians 14:38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

Blind leading the blind

It is more important in our day and time than any other that “we the people” get it right because we are in the last days and the bible tells us the kind of leadership we should avoid. We have leadership now that calls good evil and evil good but judgment is reserved for these. Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Matthew 15:11-14 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. I don’t won’t to follow this current leadership to hell do you so let us get it right. 2 Peter 3:3-5 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

Ye are your own gods

From where or from what direction does this way of thinking and living come from? We are our own gods in that it is our choice alone whether we serve God or Mammon and in the end of all things our eternal destination is judged by what choice we make. To start with, when in our case a people that have been given the freedom to choose their own leaders but ignore the core principles upon which this nation was championed and think only in terms of what can I get out of it, the slide down the slippery slope to oblivion is set in motion. By this I mean we have become a people that put the natural ahead of the spiritual or put another way, we grasp at what appeals to the flesh and neglect the spiritual. Many of us that received that spiritual gift given us when we became children of God through repentance and the baptism of his spirit as in Christ in you the hope of glory but have allowed our spirit to grow cold and have left our first love. We were warned to guard against allowing this to happen. Galatians 6:7-8 be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

The book of Revelation‘s letters to the churches gives us a good summary of all that was taught in the churches during the time of the apostles. It is a to the point summary that we all should take a close look because I am sure once we do we will see things in our life that needs improvement if we are truly trying to be pleasing to God. I will only use a couple of these examples to stay specific and on message. On your own take a look at the church of Philadelphia for what we should be. Mind you he is talking to the church that has already been established meaning these are born again churches. Revelation 2:1-7 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Note: It should be abundantly clear good works alone will not get er’ done.

When we get so caught up in the affairs of this life that we neglect the spiritual we leave our first love. It is not something one can leave and come back expecting to find everything as it was. This walk with God in the spiritual requires a continual nurturing that takes precedence over everything else. Why, because we will become lukewarm in our walk with God and to the church of Laodicea of which I am convinced of all the letters to the churches this one mostly closely identifies the condition of all the churches of our day and time. He warned; Revelation 3:15-17 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. There is much more to this church so I encourage you to read it for yourselves. Again, the emphasis here is to understand; Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. One of the ways to avoid this is to understand; Luke 21:34 and take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. Surfeiting means overindulgence, or a bout of overindulgence, in something, especially food or drink, which always leads to disgust or revulsion resulting from overindulgence. No matter how much we have of something we are never satisfied are we and the things we do have after awhile bores us. Most of us have storage buildings filled with stuff we thought we just had to have but hasn’t been attended to in years. Admit it; you know I am telling you the truth. We are satisfying the appeals of the flesh and when we recognize this is should be an eye-opener to the window of our soul’s condition. Notice I said we, I am just as guilty as anyone else in this endeavor although I have made corrections to this over the past several years by re-training my thought processes. When I see something that has much appeal, I ask myself, “how well was I doing without this before I decided I just had to have it”. You know what I discovered hidden in all of this, not that I am well off or anything close to it but I have more financial security now than I ever have before.

Cares of this life

Ah, but the cares of this life is not something we can ignore is it? Certainly not, we have to eat, have clothes on our back and have a roof over our head, but we do tend to carry this to extremes don’t we? I could write a book on this but suffice it to say along with everything else written herein the way to get victory over this appeal to the flesh is to; Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you and learn to; Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. This does not mean by any means the Christian is to avoid getting involved in things that present a threat to their liberty. It does mean we are to keep things in their proper perspective by not letting the things of the world take precedence over the spiritual. This is why we are admonished to do all things with prayer and supplication, which includes the things in the natural that can have a devastating effect on ours and our young one’s lives.

Qualified Answer

I have an answer to this and it is if we choose those leaders that are spirit-filled born again Christian children of God that live in the fear of the Lord we will not have to devote so much time to caring for the affairs of this world and can concentrate more on the spiritual and getting on with our daily lives the way we use to do. Bottom line, no one need apply to lead that doesn’t meet the qualifications above. That is how it was for a long time in this country and it served us well didn’t it? What do you say we trade in what we have now, which is; Isaiah 56:10-12 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant. How about replacing these with men that are sold out to God and his righteousness and; John 10:11-14 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. I certainly could find myself supporting someone with this mindset. Philippians 3:12-14 not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Now what is wrong with this? A person like this that knows it ain’t over till the fat lady sings and those gates click behind them meaning they fully understand or comprehend; Luke 13:23-24 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them; strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. These keep the right perspective and will lead by example and will not live by do as I say and not as I do. A man/woman that adheres to the above will manifest the spirit of a contrite and humble man/woman that has the ability to lead as they are lead of God.

Get a Life

Surely this discussion could go on and on but hopefully this provides a pretty good to the point, concise non-offending acceptable understandable guide to help us. This perspective if adhered to will help to keep us on the straight and narrow by keeping our focus on what counts the most, which is our eternal destination. After all the bottom line with all of us is; James 4:14-15 whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. Eternity is forever; it has no beginning or ending and it would seem the wise thing for us to do is put everything we do on the back burner with this thought of the eternal put ahead of everything we do in life. If we do we have a good chance of not being told on judgment day your lukewarm spirit turns my stomach so I am going to spew you out of my mouth. There is only one way to avoid being blind led by the blind and that is to put people that follow after the righteousness of God in positions of authority.

Never Ending Story

But it doesn’t end there, we must each and every one of us be and stay informed so we can responsibly put these leaders on notice by holding them accountable to us when they are straying from the straight and narrow. After all, being good people doesn’t mean they are infallible or not subject to the same temptations common to all men. It is akin to being our brother’s keeper if you will. Luke 11:36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light. Matthew 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, did ye never read in the scriptures, the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? The one right stone if properly adhered to can bear much fruit for all; Ephesians 4:15-16 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. As a former Supreme Court Justice warned, “It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error and former president Lincoln said, “We the People are the rightful master of both congress and the courts, “not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” If we don’t own up to our responsibility we will find ourselves in this position. As Voltaire noted, “It is dangerous to be right when your government is wrong.” The leadership for many years now has beaten us over the head with this thinking, “no honorable American would oppose the actions and policies of the U.S. government”. Excuse me a minute while I go puke. Teddy Roosevelt told the citizen what their responsibility is when he said, “Patriotism means to stand by the country, it does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country.” Another of our great founding fathers (Thomas Jefferson) imparted a bit of wisdom to us when he said, “When the government fears the people, there is liberty, but when the people fear the government there is tyranny. Why these warnings are inserted? It is because of what we all are witnessing as I write. One of the first goals of tyranny is to create fear in the population, fear so paralyzing that the public will accept any measure to allay it. Make the threat onerous enough and the people will relinquish everything. The government is always presenting us with a crisis, whether it is health care, terrorism, crime, environmental or whatever they dream up. We the people are left with two choices, be consumed with the crisis or let the government solve the threat of the day by limiting, constraining, or removing freedoms. The reason we are a falling nation spiritually speaking is because we have put our emphasis or have gotten our priorities out of kilter and put evil men/women in positions of authority because they promised us the world instead of heaven. If we are going to continue to lie to ourselves shouldn’t we at least go for the eternal heaven part? What a dreadful thought, huh!

Read and obey it even if hurts and it will because this flesh has to die

We all can get our priorities right if we will; 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. If we do this then it will be nothing for God to answer our prayer as in the case of Obama, his czars, and the dictatorial Marxist socialist in the house and senate; Psalms 109:8 let his days be few; and let another take his office. By having the right leader the house and senate will follow he/she right on down to “we the people” because of our support for this leader. That is how it should work!

Footnote: It is imperative we have in every state the availability of recall privilege. As it now stands many states do not have this right and some of the ones that do are so restricted they are virtually useless. Our country has become so corrupt that election fraud is rampant with ACORN as just one example of many that are prevalent in America. Today the same easily manipulated computerized, no paper trail voting machines are still being used. Computer Scientist have tested these machines and demonstrated how easily an election can be thrown to favor one candidate over another and leave no paper trail to verify the results. To offset election fraud we must through the use of multiple-use and multiple part petitions be able to recall those we elected with a simple petition that requires a given number of verifiable signatures if enough of us feel they are not doing what we require of them. With or without election fraud this is a badly needed provision to hold those elected accountable to “we the people”.

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