Devotional

The Key to Successful Leadership

Michael Beck

“When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.” (Proverbs 11:2)

By and large people don’t know what they’re doing. They would like others to believe that they do, but for the most part, they’re flying in the dark. They project confidence to mask their own insecurity. What people think they’re doing is more important to them than what they’re actually doing.

Only the humblest of men have any chance of helping their fellowmen. Humble people confess their perplexity and their inadequacy. Like Solomon, they say, “I am but a little child.” (1 Kings 3:7) They ask God for wisdom; they ask others for prayer. Their chief concern is not their appearance before men; they only and simply want to be an instrument in God’s hand. They don’t need to be recognized as anyone’s savior; they know who man’s Savior is, and they only wish to act in His name and for His glory.

Don’t marvel when proud men fail. It cannot be otherwise. Take note and determine to do the opposite. Solomon’s greatest wisdom lay in his humility. Whether you are the ruler of a great nation, or the lowliest of men, there are situations which will bring you to your wit’s end. That is not a bad thing. It is an opportunity to look to the One who is wiser than Solomon, and the One who gave the humble king the wisdom he needed to rule well.


Michael Beck is a pastor in the Dallas, TX area and the main author on Signpost. Receive a daily devotional he publishes every morning via email.