True Leadership

I was reading in 2 Kings 22-23 about King Josiah. During his reign, the Book of the Law was found and read to him. It caused him to tear his robes and inquire of God to see what must be done because he knew that Judah was not following the law. He tore down all of the idols and destroyed the high places the kings before him and built as response to the Book of the Law. He worked on restoring the temple as it should be. He also shared his new knowledge with the people of Judah.

2 Kings 23:1-3: Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. He went up to the temple of the Lord with the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets - all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord - to follow the Lord and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

This section really hit me. The king (the country's leadership) set an example for the people. The people then chose to follow it. That is a great testament of what leadership should look like. The king let the people know that Judah had not been living as it ought and publicly declared the changes that were going to be made. He made himself accountable to the people.

This is not something you see in today's leadership. They seem to be looking out for the people's interests, but they do not seem to be saying, "We think that this is the right course of action and, to prove it to you, we will be the first people to follow the rules and statues we are proposing. We will show by our example how effective the new plans and policies are." Instead it sounds more like, "This is what is best for you. We don't need this stuff so we won't have to be subject to it, but we're sure that it will be successful." There's not proof or accountability. They are not putting their money where their mouths are. Will we ever see this type of leadership in our country?

Perhaps you feel that our national and local leadership is living what it is preaching. If so, I am interested to be shown examples of this. I would be encouraged by this example.