Where Young Leaders Fail

Jeremiah 52:1
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
Jeremiah 52:2
He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done.

There is an agitation by young people across the world that it is their turn to lead. Young people believe they will make better leaders. Young people believe we are not making much progress because old people, old methods, and old strategies are being used. There is almost a generalized belief that young people are better than old people in leadership. Is this really true?

Young people have very little experience and they hardly foresee risks in decisions they make and therefore they hurry into implementation. This desire to rush into the implementation of decisions is what makes young people more attractive as leaders than old people. Old people out of experience can foresee many risks and they move slowly into decision making. Young people have so much time ahead of them and can rectify their mistakes if any. Old people are running out of time and they are keen to live behind a good legacy, therefore they would rather have a status quo than rock the boat and risk their legacy, and time is not on their side.

Young people are impatient and sometimes this impatience reflects the state of the entire community. The community is tired of certain old ways of doing things. The community is tired of promises that remain unfulfilled. The community just wants action and action alone. The impatience of a young person represents the aspirations of the community in seeing things done. This impatience endears a young leader to the community that is to be led.

If you visit our site reikesis.com you will not only discover that we have given it a new facelift and we hope to get your comment about it. You will also discover it is easy to scroll and to find articles arranged in topics. We have several articles on leadership that are highly informative, kindly plan and browse the site. At the end of each article, you have a chance to subscribe to a newsletter that updates you daily on all our articles. Our focus today is on young leaders who are highly desired across the world. We wish to point out something that the Bible says about them.

Our Bible text today tells us that Zedekiah was only 21 years old when he became king. How young can a national leader be? 21 years old? That is quite young. After the Bible introduces his family for proper identification, the Bible tells us that he failed. Zedekiah ruled for 11 years. If he had ruled for one year, we would have said, had he been given more time, he would have succeeded. He had eleven years to take risks, learn, adjust, and do better, but he failed. Zedekiah’s failure was in his relationship with God. The Bible tells us that he did evil in the eyes of God. This is where some young leaders fail!

Joash was seven years old when he became king, 2 Kings 11:21. He was too young and his leadership depended on his mother’s guidance and that of a priest who instructed him in the ways of the LORD, 2 Kings 12:2. When young people are guided in the ways of the LORD as they lead, they succeed. But when young people are at the age where they listen to nobody and trust themselves more than they trust God, they ignore God and they fail. This is where some young leaders fail!

When young leaders trust their education more than God, they fail. When young leaders refuse to be advised, they fail. When young leaders trust their technological skills more than guidance emanating from years of experience, they fail. When Rehoboam listened to the advice of his inexperienced age mates and rejected the advice of highly experienced older men who served his father King Solomon, this is where he failed miserably, 1 Kings 12:13-14. The greatest mistake in the leadership of young people is they have too much faith in themselves to the extent of rejecting God and sound advice. This is where some young leaders fail!

When young leaders make statements such as, everything does not require faith, we need action, they are on a path that is dangerous. They are suggesting that some things can work without God. When young people make statements such as, God helps those who help themselves, they are buying into a godless fallacy that masquerades as a sound biblical philosophy. We have an article that deconstructs this philosophy, click here for further study, God Helps Those Who Help Themselves?. When young people look at prayer for a matter as a time-wasting routine or as a ritual that can quickly be rushed over and then ignored, they fail to appreciate how much God can help in their leadership. Failure to acknowledge the contribution of God to leadership is a failure of young people. This is where some young leaders fail.

While young is relative, we must acknowledge that we have some people advanced in age but they have young people’s mentality. We also have people young in age but with the mentality of old people. A mentality of slow, careful, and always consulting. Therefore God’s word today is to all of us, who may be tempted to move on without God. Moving on without God is the point where anyone and everyone of all ages will always fail. If you have faith in leadership theories by Sun Tzu, Robert Green, John Maxwell, etc., but you have less faith and trust in God, you will apply those theories and still fail. A Godless life is a life that may be dramatic but bound to fail. This is where some young leaders fail!

Anything we do, which we think we have it figured out without God, will fail sooner or later. If you are so sure that you do not need to pray about it, you are on a path of failure. Whether it’s a relationship, project, business, promise, investment, or a decision, if it doesn’t itch you to pray about it, you are risking a journey without God. A journey without God is a journey bound to fail. This is where some young leaders fail!

May God save us from excitement, rush, and impatience that puts faith in human theories and forgets God. May we learn to trust God’s guidance even when we think we are sure of the way forward. Particularly when we think we are sure, we are most likely wrong. Dear God, teach us to trust and depend on you completely in certainty and uncertainty, in Jesus’ name, Amen!