NIV Leadership Bible Reading PlanSample

Power and Influence

Power is essential to leadership. Without it leaders can't lead. Unfortunately, power and influence are not always used to help others. If you're a leader, you have some share in these commodities. You have power over others; they listen to you, and you influence them. What you do with that power and influence matters more than you may realize.

The author of Psalm 82 describes a scene in which God chastises and challenges Israel's rulers and judges. Because of their role as God's delegates and image-bearers, these men were referred to as "gods." They were accountable to defend the "weak and fatherless" and to protect the rights of the "poor and the oppressed" (v. 3). They were to exercise their power in a godly manner, a manner that would rescue the needy and deliver them from the domination of wicked individuals (see v. 4).

These men were assigned godlike functions in their roles as rulers and judges, but the psalmist predicted that they would fall like mere mortals (see vv. 6-7). While their power may have given them a sense of invincibility, they would one day be called upon to answer to the Judge (see v. 8). Since all leaders face the same fate, we must exercise our power and influence with grace and love.

What mistake did the rulers and judges of Israel make with regard to their power? How can you avoid that same mistake?