John Stanko

"They looked for a way to arrest him,
but they were afraid of the crowd because
the people held that he was a prophet" - Matthew 21:46.

The 'they' in this verse was the leadership in Israel and the 'him' of course was Jesus. The leaders wanted to do away with Jesus, for they were convinced He was a fool and an enemy of God. There are two things that stand out here. First, they could not really lead because they were afraid of the people. If they truly believed this about Jesus, they should have done something about it. Leaders cannot make good decisions, however, when they are afraid of the very people they are assigned to lead! What's more, the people or followers had more wisdom and insight than the leaders (they recognized Jesus for who He truly was), which leads to the second point: Just because leaders have the title doesn't mean they know everything and are necessarily smarter or superior to those who follow.

LEADERSHIP STEP: Your Step today is to reflect on the things that may be affecting your ability to make decisions. Of what or whom are you afraid? Failure? Losing your job or position? Other people? Today may be the day to be set free by facing your fears and making a decision you have put off. Then ask if you have cut yourself off from the help, wisdom and insight your followers have because of an attitude that you are smarter than they are, simply because you are the leader.