Leaders Know This Will Happen To Them

Nehemiah 6:1-4 - Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it,.... 2 then Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, "Come, let us meet together ...." But they were planning to harm me. 3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?" 4 They sent messages to me four times in this manner, and I answered them in the same way.   NASU 
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• Some People Will Try To Halt A Leader's Influence  

If there is anything that a leader knows he/she knows there are people who will constantly try to bring their influence to a screeching halt. The only thing leaders don't know at first is who this will be. Will it be a close associate, family member, or someone they hardly know?
 
What is a leader to do when confronted with this type of situation?
 
Follow in the footsteps of Nehemiah by refusing to associate with them.
 
If you are going to be a leader you need to realize there are certain people with whom you will not associate. "Bad company corrupts good morals," the apostle Paul said.
 
Nehemiah had three powerful enemies who were trying to get him to stop building the wall and meet with them. They wanted to kill him. Your enemies may not want to kill you but they would like to kill your influence.
 
Stop for a moment and think back over the last five to ten years of all the business, sports or political people who have lost their influence.

The cause of their loss of influence may have been they succumb to drugs, fraud, greed or sexual promiscuity. The street smart leader will avoid people who would introduce them to these types of temptations and so should you.
 
Governor DeSantis was invited to be on the TV show The View. He declined. There was nothing good going to come from this meeting so he did what all good leaders do, he refused to attend. He kept working for the people of Florida. I want to say, "Thank you Governor DeSantis for being a great leader".

• What Should You Do? 

The smartest thing we can do is say, "NO."
 
Nehemiah said, "NO. I can't come down. I am doing a great work." He didn't say this just once he had to say it over and over again.

When your enemy attacks you better be prepared to fight more than one battle. You better be focused on your goal.
 
There are going to be times in your life where you are either going to take a stand and say, "NO" or give in and live with the regret. The choice is yours. 

• Reevaluate What You Are Doing 

Some times we lose focus on what it is we are trying to accomplish and this is what allows us to give into the invitations of others to get involved with behaviors that will only corrupt us and bring our leadership influence to a halt.
 
There is no doubt in my mind that the reason Nehemiah said, "NO" was he never lost focus of rebuilding the wall. That meant more to him than anything in his life at that time. By rebuilding the wall he was going to once again bring honor and glory to the city of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem was the city that God chose for the Israelites.
 
What is it that you need to reevaluate at this time?
 
What has been tempting you? 
 
What is it that you need to say, "No" too?

Are there some people with whom you should not be associating?
 
Think About This:
 
It is easier to judge people by what they fall for than by what they stand for.  

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word