What qualities do you look for?

Nehemiah 7:1 - After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed.  I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do.

What qualities would you look for if you were going to appoint someone in a position of leadership?

Would it be a quality based on how much they had researched your business and knew what to fire at you to impress you at the interview or would it be by the way he talked about the importance of his family and spending quality time and looking after those close to him?

What would grab you about the person….. The care he has for others? Or the selfish reason’s of how it would profit you most because they have the talk?

Nehemiah had completed the massive task of rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem, but he wasn’t finished yet…. There were a few more things he had to do.  He now had the task of rebuilding the leadership of the city, to appoint people to oversea the rebuilding of people’s lives - Positions of Leadership!

Nehemiah had to appoint people in two major positions - 1) Head honcho of Jerusalem, and 2) The head of the Citadel.

So what would Nehemiah be looking for in the people to fulfill these important roles?

The good news is Nehemiah tells us what he wanted… “I chose Hananiah to be the commander of the citadel because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do.”

Wow, what amazing qualities - INTEGRITY, and a man who FEARS God more than MOST.

Let me use this as a challenge to us today… Are these the qualities that we would look for in someone or the qualities that we are displaying?

Today be encouraged to be a person who chooses not to compromise.  Let integrity rule your heart and actions.  We need leaders who stand in positions of authority with these qualities, especially to be known as a person who fears God more than most.