Outline: A Godly Leader is Trustworthy

Note: This is the second installment in our series on biblical leadership.  Check out our first outline “Why Godly Leadership matters.”

A Godly Leader is Trustworthy

Selected Verse

Establish the need: Do you see the importance of being trustworthy in your own life?

 

Purpose: Today we shall three points so that we would desire to be trustworthy as a foundation to be a godly Christian and godly leader.

• The importance of being trustworthy
• The example of trustworthy leaders
• How to cultivate trustworthiness

Quick Comments about meaning of being trustworthy:

• Being trustworthy involves having integrity and honesty.
• Trustworthy is people knowing and trusting you for your character of being honest

 

The importance of being trustworthy

1. Even if you are not a leader right now, integrity and being trustworthy is important:
   1. “He who walks in integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will be found out.” (Proverbs 10:9)
      1. “He who walks:” Walk is often use as an idiom to refer to how you live your life.
      2. God’s Word here emphasize the benefit of walking in integrity: he thus “walks securely”= Another way we can translate that is walk safely.
      3. God’s Word here also mention the cost of lack of integrity: “But he who perverts his ways will be found out”= A person with lack of integrity often is a hypocrite (pretending to be one thing while living another way) and here it states a hypocrite will be exposed.
   2. As servants of God we are required to be trustworthy: “In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.” (1 Corinthians 4:2)
      1. This is what God demands.
      2. Notice this is not just an Old Testament teaching but also true in the New Testament.
   3. Why is it important for leaders? 3 reasons:
      1. Being trustworthy means being faithful, and that is Jesus’ way of climbing the leadership latter: “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” (Luke 16:10)
         1. Jesus’ path to great things involves the little things!
         2. So be faithful with little, as exercise to being a leader with faithful with much!
      2. Leadership means influencing others; but others will not let them influence you if they don’t trust you: “He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is trustworthy conceals a matter.” (Proverbs 11:13)
         1. Here in this passage we see someone who is trustworthy knows not to gossip and know how to keep secret those things that should be appropriately secret.
         2. Yet if one cannot be trusted with words, how will a leader be trusted with other things like money, possessions and life?
      3. Integrity guides the leader: “The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.” (Proverbs 11:3)
         1. Even as a leader guide others, their own integrity guide them.
         2. As leaders sometimes there are difficult decisions leaders face; and among the various choices one’s integrity guide a leader by ruling out and eliminating bad choices.

 

The example of trustworthy leaders

1. Example 1: Joseph
   1. Joseph was appointed to be the second in command under Egypt’s King: “Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck. 43 He had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, “Bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt” (Genesis 41:41-45)
      1. Notice here Joseph was put in a leadership position by Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
      2. Essentially Joseph was made as second in command after the king, the “Prime Minister” if you will.
   2. Yet before that God gave him a test of integrity before Joseph was made a leader in Genesis 39:
      1. Joseph proved himself trustworthy as a slave that he was entrusted with leadership: “So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge” (4)
      2. Yet even when no one else was around Joseph practice integrity and did not commit adultery (7-12)
      3. Joseph went to jail after being slandered for forcing himself upon his master’s wife; yet in jail Joseph proved himself trustworthy as a prisoner that he was entrusted with leadership: “The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. 23 The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper.” (22-23)
2. Example 2: Paul
   1. We want to look at a situation in which many don’t think of Paul as a leader and yet we see Paul as a spiritual leader because of his trustworthiness.
   2. Paul in Acts 27 was a prisoner: “When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius.” (Acts 27:1)
      1. As a prisoner on a ship Paul would have been at the bottom both physically and socially.[1]
      2. This would not be a position most would imagine as a “leader” material.
   3. According to Acts 27:2 we see the ship land and then in verse 3 we see that Paul was allowed to go to a town at Sidon: “The next day we put in at Sidon; and Julius treated Paul with consideration and allowed him to go to his friends and receive care.”
      1. Notice the Roman Centurion Julius allowed Paul to be away from the ship; there is trust in Paul.
      2. Keep in mind if a Roman soldier lost a prisoner it will cost the soldier his life, see later in Acts 27:42-43.[2]
      3. Very likely the reason why the Centurion allowed Paul to be away from the ship is because Paul was trustworthy. It might be that the Centurion has seen Paul’s character in prison for two years.
      4. Also it might be possible that the Roman Centurion became a Christian since he is named in this chapter and if so Paul might have been the spiritual leader of this Centurion even though Paul is in prison.

 

How to cultivate trustworthiness

1. Have hope that God can change you to be trustworthy: “And we know that [a]God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)
   1. In verse 30 it says we are justified and then glorified; but in between the two is sanctified.
   2. If God will sanctify us and glorify us then we have hope God can sanctify us to be trustworthy.
2. Start small; be faithful with the little things! Remember: “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” (Luke 16:10)
3. Pursue integrity by remembering God sees all: “For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He watches all his paths.” (Proverbs 5:21)
   1. In the context here it is teaching to avoid sexual infidelity with the truth that God knows and sees all.
   2. Let that truth of God’s omniscience encourage you to have integrity even when others aren’t there.
4. Be encouraged to keep on pursuing trustworthiness
   1. If you are in a humble or difficult place think of how Joseph and Paul were in difficult places too.
   2. Also be encouraged with Paul’s example that even as you don’t have official positions, titles and are in a place in life where many would look down and despise you, you can still be a spiritual leader!

 

[1] John MacArthur, Paul in Chains: Leadership in Action (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2004), 7.

[2] John MacArthur, Paul in Chains: Leadership in Action (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2004), 10.

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