Jotham, the young king we read about in 2 Chronicles 27, is portrayed like the successful leaders of our time. He was the son of a very powerful family, he had great military success, and he secured enough resources to sustain Judah.
As a godly leader, “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (verse 2), and “he grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God” (verse 6).
Despite all his success, however, his subjects continued their corrupt practices. Despite military success and personal righteousness, the people refused to emulate the king’s close walk with the Lord.
Perhaps the consequences of generations past were already too grave for things to change. Perhaps Jotham focused too much on military growth and material provisions instead of leading people to abide by their covenant with God. We don’t know for sure, because the book of Chronicles is not an exhaustive account of his reign.
What strikes me most is the fact that Jotham’s kingdom grew by leaps and bounds in terms of resources, yet the people remained disobedient to God. The people remained corrupt. They continued offering sacrifices at high places.
In the same way, our ministry may grow by leaps and bounds in terms of the number of people we help, the amount of resources we manage, or even the number of godly leaders we have.
Yet if all these efforts do not lead others closer to God, we will have failed. As we lead others, no metric is more important than the number of lives brought closer to God.
How about us as leaders? Do we measure our success by the number of souls saved and transformed? Do we measure victory by the number of families fulfilling God’s purposes?
As we continue serving others on behalf of God, let us use “heaven’s metrics” of transformed lives, not society’s indicators — money, fame, and prestige.
[Jotham] did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. . . . The people, however, continued their corrupt practices. — 2 Chronicles 27:2, NIV
Prayer: Lord, give us the grace to lead people closer to you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Neil Penullar works as a Partnership Facilitator for Compassion Philippines.
Read all the One in Spirit devotionals.
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