HEZEKIAH!

At the beginning of his tenure, King Hezekiah was quite remarkable and was considered to be one of the most faithful and God-fearing kings that reigned in Judah. And then he got sick. He was so sick that a Prophet approached him and advised him to set his affairs in order because he was certainly going to die. But being a man of prayer, Hezekiah cried out to God for healing and God granted his wish and further added 15 more years to his life.

Naturally, Hezekiah’s miraculous recovery attracted a lot of attention from friends and foes alike. On one occasion, he was visited by envoys from Babylon who ostensibly went to pay courtesy and show solidarity to their fellow royalty. Their kind gesture was greeted with an enthusiastic reception from Hezekiah who went further and showed them all his treasures and armory. I imagine that it was flattering for King Hezekiah to receive notice and recognition from the King of Babylon, and he must have felt really important. After all, Judah was still a lowly nation and Babylon was a junior superpower.

However, Hezekiah’s display of military and diplomatic prowess turned out to be nothing but proud folly. In his attempt to wanting to please and impress men, ungodly men; he exposed his Kingdom to the enemy. Years later, way after his tenure, the kings of Babylon came and took everything away! It would be more than a hundred years before Babylon carried away the royal treasures of Judah, but they did come. And they knew where to fetch the gold. When King Hezekiah’s attention shifted from his experienced miracle to his precious things, his treasures, his house, his dominion, he set himself up for failure. He faced and failed the temptation of success.

Isn’t it odd that many leaders who begin their leadership with strong convictions against the temptations of failure and weakness often fail under the temptation of success and strength? It doesn’t matter which part of the world you come from; I am sure you have grappled with this “phenomenon”: What happens to our leaders once they get into office? But the critical question we should be asking is, how are their personal or professional actions and decisions impacting us and future generations? Like it or not, the state of your life today is a result of actions and decisions taken by those you were or are submitted under. They influence the trajectory and, in most cases, the success or failure of your life.

When put to task to explain the motivation behind his blunder, King Hezekiah took full responsibility for his actions but was completely oblivious of the consequences his actions would have on generations after him. Prophet Isaiah told him that the Babylonians would return in the future and carry everything away; including his kingdom’s sons and servants. Hezekiah’s curious reaction and response were that at least “there would be peace and security during my reign!”. Surely Hez!!!

This was a sad state of heart in the king of Judah. He could afford to feel relief that the consequences of his actions would not happen in his lifetime. Needless to say, Hezekiah started as a great king and his overall reign was one of outstanding godliness, yet he did not finish well. His beginning was much better than his end.

The story of Hezekiah should challenge leaders to think about how their actions affect the next generations. Leadership is never about the pursuit of personal comfort and success but about shaping the future. Futuristic leaders have the ability to look past the events of today and into the possibilities of tomorrow. They must not only imagine, envision, project, and/or predict what has not been realized, but they must prepare their followers to embrace and boldly step into a glorious future!

We have entered a new era of leadership where the idea of effective leadership is constantly changing. Its definition, ethos, and measure of success now rests and is driven by those who are being led and not the leaders themselves. There is increasing demand for leaders to not just provide solutions for our immediate challenges but to demonstrate that they possess the ability to anticipate our future needs. Unlike Hezekiah, futuristic leaders must remain alive to the fact that their present decisions and actions; good or bad, affect us, our children, and our children’s children.