Two weeks ago I was reading about Hezekiah in 2nd Kings. If you aren't familiar with him, you should check out his story sometime. He was a good king of Judah. This category was unfortunately far outnumbered by the bad. During his reign the Assyrians withdrew from the land after suffering massive casualties at the hand of God. If this wasn't enough, he was granted an additional 15 years of life after being told his illness would be fatal. A miraculous sign accompanied his healing.
The focus of our story today occurs immediately after that. Here is the text, starting with verse 12 (NIV):
12 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness. 13 Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”
“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came from Babylon.”
15 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”
“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD: 17 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. 18 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
Now, knowing what you already do about Hezekiah, you'd think he'd be upset and try to do something to change the situation. Not so much.
19 “The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”
Wow. Who cares what happens in the future as long as life is good for me. That is not a true leader. That is selfishness pure and simple. Unfortunately, this idea has far from gone out of style. Two modern examples:
1. The CEO who make decisions based on what will help this quarter's numbers while ignoring the long term impact on the health of the company
2. Our politicians who refuse to make the difficult choices on shoring up our nation's economy. Instead they kick the can to the generations that follow. Let's be real here, balancing the nation's budget isn't different from balancing your family's. It's simple (but not easy). You either cut spending, make more money (aka raise taxes), or do both. Those are the only choices.
True leaders are as rare today as they were in Old Testament times. In the choices you make both professionally and personally, ask yourself if you are being a leader or only doing what leads to an immediately pleasant outcome.
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