A Pure Heart

What is a leader? What do you look for in a leader?  What is the one thing that drives good leadership – in a family, in a job, in a church, in the world?  What qualities do you like to see in a leader? 

Perhaps you look for someone who is successful, who has been really good in business, has made lots of money. You might look for someone from noble birth – someone who has royal blood flowing through his veins. Could it be that you look for someone who is popular, who people want hang out with? Someone good looking, or with a good sense of humour.

In the Bible we read about the time when the people of Israel were looking for a leader.  They thought they had found a great leader, a man by the name of Saul, even though on the day of his coronation he had gone into hiding (1 Samuel 10:21-22).  He was tall, dark, and handsome (1 Samuel 9:2).   Yet time proved him unfit as a leader. 

The search was on for the next leader in Israel, the next king.   Prophet Samuel, directed by God, ends up at the house of Jesse.  Samuel had been told that one of Jesse's sons was going to be the next leader in Israel.  From the eldest downward all Jesse's sons were paraded one by one before Samuel.  But each time God told Samuel, "That is not the one!"  Samuel had come on a mission to find a good leader – and somehow all Jesse’s boys don’t measure up to God’s standards.  

But God had told Samuel: “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)  In other words, when you look for a good leader the heart of the matter is a matter of the heart!  So Samuel asks Jesse: “Is this all you got?” (1 Samuel 16:11)  Well, there just happened to be the youngest, a shepherd boy.   His name was David.   And he became the next king in Israel.

Now you might wonder, what was it about David that would make him a good leader?  What did God see in his heart?  Well, earlier in this story we read that God had said to the previous leader, King Saul:  “Your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people.” (1 Samuel 13:14) When God looked at David he found a person after his own heart!   

That is what God was looking for. And that is what we should be looking for – men and women, young and old, who are people after God’s own heart, hearts that beat in sinc with God’s heart.  

What does a person after God’s own heart look like?  What should we be looking for in a leader? I like to mention three things we should look for.  And we see these things in David as a leader.

First, you look for character. True leadership always begins with the inner person.  The character of a leader will filter into every aspect of life and ministry.  Apart from character, even ministry in the church is only religious activity. Without character there really is no leadership.  It all begins with the leader's heart.

What kind of character? What kind of heart?  A pure heart!  One thing we know about God is that he has a pure heart.  In the book of Job we read: “How can mere mortals be more righteous than God? How can humans be purer than their Creator? (Job 4:17) These questions are simply rhetorical. The answer is clear. No one is a pure as God. 

Purity in heart is what we as humans need to aim for.  David knew this full well.  In the book of Psalms, most of which were penned by David, there are 132 references to the necessity of humans having a pure heart.  David tells us in Psalm 24 that if you want to stand in the presence of God you need to have a pure heart. (Psalm 24:4)  

Now if you know anything about David as a leader you will quickly tell me that David surely was not perfect.  And he wasn’t. He had many failures and faults. He committed gross sins. And David knew that.  Many of the Psalms are transparent admissions of his failures to live a pure life. 

In his confessions David was not just sorry about his sin. He admits: “The sacrifices of God are broken; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17) David’s heart was broken before God. And he pleads with God: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10) Or as David says in Psalm 139: “Search me, O God, know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any evil way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24) David wanted to have a heart after God’s heart - a pure heart.

When you look for a leader you look for someone who strives to have a pure heart.  A person of godly character. Someone who is broken before God. Who knows the depth of their sin. And who strives to have a pure heart - a steadfast spirit.  David’s son Solomon tells us in Proverbs 22:11: “GOD loves the pure-hearted and well-spoken; good leaders also delight in their friendship.” (Pr 22:11)  A pure heart is the stuff of good leaders. The apostle Paul echoed this when he told Timothy: “Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22) Great leaders care more about the approval of God than the praise of men.

What should look for when you look for a leader? What should you strive for as a leader?  To have a pure heart! To pursue righteousness! To be steadfast in spirit! That’s the first thing you look for in a leader – a pure heart!

(In the coming weeks I will share the next two things you should look for in a leader.)