Isaiah 11:2
“And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;”
The need of balanced leadership is great in today’s society. The problem is not that we have no leaders, the problem is that we have very few leaders who are balanced. The reason it is hard to find balanced leadership is because leaders are human, and humans have their own tendencies. The leader who wants to be balanced is the leader who will get the LORD’s help.
The epitome of a balanced leader is found in Jesus Christ. The verse above shows us the balance of Jesus Christ. There is a reason the Kingdom of God will be so peaceful, and that reason is because He is balanced. There are three causes of His balance and how those causes can be achieved.
First, Jesus had the spirit of wisdom and understanding. Wisdom balances out understanding and understanding needs wisdom. Wisdom is knowing how to do something, but understanding is knowing when to do it. Wisdom is following the advice of success while understanding is applying common sense. There are many leaders who have wisdom, but they don’t have the understanding to balance their wisdom. Leaders not only need to get wisdom, but they also need to have the understanding of how to use wisdom properly. Wisdom without understanding is worthless. If you don’t get the common sense of when to apply wisdom, then your wisdom will be wasted.
Second, Jesus had the spirit of counsel and might. It is so important for leaders to be able to counsel tenderly but also to be strong enough to hold people accountable for their wrong. One of the biggest weaknesses I have seen in leadership is being unbalanced in either counsel or might. Some leaders will never put their foot down because they don’t want to hurt the people they have counseled or helped, while other leaders are so rigid with people that they don’t give them a chance to grow. A balanced leader is one who will have both counsel and might.
Third, Jesus had the spirit of knowledge and fear. It is important for leaders to continually build their knowledge, but they also must keep their knowledge in check by having a fear of God. A leader with a great fear of God without growing their knowledge is a leader who will never grow their followers in the knowledge of the LORD. On the other hand, a leader who continually grows their knowledge but does not have a fear of God will become prideful and arrogant to their own detriment. Every leader needs to build their knowledge, but they need to balance their knowledge with a fear of God.
The only way these will be accomplished is to be filled with the Spirit of God. The reason Jesus is a balanced leader is because the Spirit of LORD rests upon Him. You will never be a balanced leader without being filled with the Spirit. A leader must every day yield themselves to the Holy Spirit if they want to be the balanced leader their followers need them to be.
Unbalanced leaders create unstable followers. Balanced leadership can only be achieved through the power of God. I challenge every Christian to strive to be balanced in these areas. Daily yield yourself to the Holy Spirit of God and you will find that being balanced in these areas will be easier to achieve. Balanced leadership always makes leading more peaceful and calm. Ask God to help you become the balanced leader your followers need you to be.