Page 53 - Principles of Leadership - Nehemiah

on something called intent. Intent – your motive, your agenda – may be intangible and invisible. But don’t think
for a moment that it is hidden; People sense your intent in everything you say and do.” 167 It is difficult to talk
about serving without also talking about trust and vice versa. Those who were lending money were leading out
of a position of power and control. They were subconsciously saying that you must do what I say because I am
the one with the money, and I am in control.

Servant leaders such as Nehemiah are different. His intent when he did the same was purely and simply to
serve others. “Servant leaders are motivated by caring, and the agenda they seek is a mutual benefit: I want to
win – but it is even more important to me that you win.” 168 This brings us to this question, is it possible to
accelerate trusting relationships? Yes, it is possible, but it involves risk because you must first be willing to set
aside your own self-interest and extend trust to those around you. We see that Nehemiah had already taken a
notable risk when he said to the positional leaders, “We have done our best to buy back our Jewish
countrymen who were sold to foreigners, but now you sell your own countrymen, and we have to buy them
back.” His true intent was to serve others and not himself. Ask yourself right now, what is the level of trust you
share in your relationship with the team you work with? Ask yourself, what are some ways I can deliberately
serve my team that would demonstrate my intent to be a servant leader? Remember, it is impossible to talk
about leadership without first talking about trust.

3. Nehemiah’s example (5:14-19)
14Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah—from
the twentieth year until his thirty-second year, 12 years—my associates never ate from the food allotted to
the governor. Nehemiah served as the appointed governor of Judah from around 445 to 433 BC for the first
time. He returned to Babylon as agreed to in chapter 2:6. He returned to Jerusalem in Nehemiah 13:6 and was
appointed governor again from “424 and extending to no longer than 410 BC.” 169 The following events took
place under his first reign as the governor of the land of Judah. 15 The governors who preceded me had heavily
burdened the people, taking food and wine from them, as well as a pound of silver. Their subordinates also
oppressed the people, but I didn’t do this because of the fear of God. 16 Instead, I devoted myself to the
construction of the wall, and all my subordinates were gathered there for the work. We didn’t buy any land.
17 There were 150 Jews and officials, as well as guests from the surrounding nations, at my table. 18 Each
day, one ox, six choice sheep, and some fowl were prepared for me. An abundance of all kinds of wine was
⌊provided⌋ every 10 days. But I didn’t demand the food allotted to the governor, because the burden on the
people was so heavy. 19 Remember me favorably, my God, for all that I have done for this people.

Once again, I agree with the teachings of Boice, as stated in his commentary. “I cannot say that the evangelical
church is consciously exploiting other Christians or even the poor generally, though we are part of a system that
makes it difficult for the poor to survive.” 170 We all operate within cultures that do not like to change. When
confrontational leaders point out injustices, it is tough to bring about change. But to see change occur,
churches must develop a healthy fear of God. The governors who preceded me had heavily burdened the
people, taking food and wine from them and a pound of silver. It also appears that their subordinates also
oppressed the people. We are not told exactly how these subordinates oppressed the people. However, we
know through historical studies that those who collected taxes often had a set amount they were expected to
collect. They would then add more to this taxation for themselves. However, we see that Nehemiah didn’t do
this because of the fear of God. Nehemiah feared that God's name would be tarnished, and therefore, he
chose to love people over loving his possessions. Words cannot express how this kind of living magnifies your
leadership trust and how high-trust leadership teams can develop. Christians living in a global village can no
longer be indifferent to those who say, “We, our sons, and our daughters are numerous. Let us get grain so
that we can eat and live.”

That brings us to the first question I started with. Who is to control the wealth that we accumulate? In Western
culture, there is an emphasis on the personal property rights of the individual. This rationale says we worked
for it, and therefore, all the wealth we worked for and accumulated belongs to us. However, the Biblical
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