Day 2: Proverbs 2:6-10

“For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up success for the upright; He is a shield for those who live with integrity so that He may guard the paths of justice and protect the way of His loyal followers. Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and integrity-every good path. For wisdom will enter your mind, and knowledge will delight your heart.”



Now that’s a mouthful. Solomon wrote the Proverbs for young men who were about to enter government service, so you could say that Proverbs is just a leadership handbook. With that in mind, take a look at what Solomon (and God) wants you to get: you need wisdom, righteousness, justice, and integrity. That’s what you need to lead people, businesses, and ministries. So what are those things, anyway, and why do you need them? God is very clear here about why you need these things. He is all about justice, protecting His people, and giving success to those who seek Him. But He also provides a description of the kind of person that He blesses with success. Wisdom we’ve already talked about, but here are the others…


1. Righteousness. In the Old Testament, righteousness is regarded as doing the will of God, and being godly. The righteous person (not to be confused with New Testament Righteousness, which has more to do with salvation) is focused on doing the godly thing all the time. The righteous person works tirelessly for God and His kingdom. Biblical leadership is based on working for God, rather than for yourself or others.


2. Justice. God is very concerned with justice. Justice is treating all people the same. “love your neighbor as yourself”, as Jesus would say. You see, He created every person, and as such, if you treat some people badly, you are insulting their maker. A leader understands that God made all people, and so all people are too be loved and respected; treated just as you would yourself.


3. Integrity. Integrity is personal character. Do you do the right thing all the time, even when other people aren’t looking? Integrity is key to leadership, because without the reputation as a person with integrity, no one will follow you. Not to mention that if you talk about God and then have a habit of screwing up people will begin to question God. Not cool.


And what’s the connector? Wisdom. With wisdom, all these other things fall into place. Do you see the connection? Fear God, get knowledge. With the knowledge God gives you, He also gives you wisdom. With Wisdom, He also lets you understand righteousness, justice, and integrity. And when you’ve got that, you can lead.


CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Justice, righteousness, and integrity don’t come naturally to us. They are taught to us by God through wisdom.


Here’s some verses you might want to meditate on today: I Kings 3:4-14


Prayer: Lord, you are the giver of all good things. You alone have wisdom, and You are the only place I can get wisdom. Help me to be wise. Teach me righteousness, justice, and integrity. Make me a leader. Give me what I need to complete your will. Thank you Father, in Christ’s name, amen.