By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
Whakamoemititia a Ihowa. E toku wairua, whakamoemititia a Ihowa. I ahau e ora nei ka whakamoemiti ahau ki a Ihowa; ka himene ahau ki toku Atua i ahau i te ao nei.
Ia outou vivii atu ia Ioa. Lo‘u agaga e, ia e vivii atu ia Ieova. Ou te vivii atu ia Ieova a o ou ola; ou te fai pesega i lo‘u Atua a o ou tumau i le ola nei.
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Psalm 146:1-2
The integrity of Christian leadership resounds in what we say “yes” to, and what we say “no” to.
In the first four statements of Psalm 146, each line is the psalmist saying “yes”.
Yes, my soul will adore God. Yes, my body will resound with the greatness of God. Yes, my whole life will celebrate the goodness of God. Yes!
Our hearts can so easily take God’s praiseworthiness for granted. Christian leaders intentionally refocus our thoughts on God, pointing out his majesty.
But Christian leadership is also about what we say “no” to.
In 2025, we need to say "no" to putting our trust in princes, the powerful, and the influential. We are not to give our hearts to political leaders, to the wealthy, or to social media influencers.
Either in New Zealand or internationally, they are only human. They are fallible, fragile. They cannot save. To think they can is at best foolishness and, at worst, idolatry.
Our help and our hope is the God of Jacob. Why? Verses 6–9 give us a picture of the mercy and justice of our God.
He is the God who upholds the cause of the oppressed—like the 16,000+ unborn children aborted each year in New Zealand, or recent immigrants being taken advantage of, or tangata whenua seeking redress for injustices.
He is the God who cares for the hungry—like the one in four children growing up in New Zealand experiencing food insecurity, unsure when the next meal is coming.
He is the God who watches over the foreigner—like the many refugees and immigrants who come from other countries to make New Zealand home.
He is the God who is concerned for the fatherless and the widow—like the 200,000+ single-parent families in New Zealand, and the thousands here who have faced the death of a spouse.
He is the God who frustrates the way of the wicked, and the God who loves the righteous.
God showed his love ultimately by sending Jesus, the Righteous One, to become oppressed, a prisoner, hungry. God sent Jesus to die an unjust death, bearing the punishment for sins that we committed, not him.
Christian leadership rides and falls on whether we say “yes” to Jesus. Christian leadership also requires us to say “no” to trusting anyone other than him to save. He alone is worthy of our praise.
(Based on a devotion shared in January 2021)
