What makes a good leader? How about a great leader? Does merely holding the title of leader make one a great leader? Can someone be a leader without ever having the title of leader? 

While I’m no guru on the subject of being a great leader, I can tell you I believe God has called all believers to be leaders. Whether it’s leading a small group of people, teaching Sunday School to a bunch of kids, or leading the people in your home, we all have a sphere of influence where we can be leaders. 

I can definitely tell you being a good leader has nothing to do with what title you hold. We can look around and find great examples of people who claim to be leaders, yet aren’t leading anyone when you get down to the nitty gritty of what they do all day. Some are puppets who are given scripts to read and think they are being a good leader. Some sit back and watch as their cities burn to the ground, all the while placing blame on everyone else or pretending there is no fire at all. These people may think they are leading others, when in fact they are simply holding the title of leader yet have absolutely NO qualities of leadership. 

Over the next several weeks we are going to take a look at character traits people had, making them great leaders, regardless of their station in life. 

A Great Leader Submits

The first character trait we will look at is submission. Yes, to be a great leader you must be submissive to authority. I know this sounds backward, but it’s not. How can people lead effectively if they don’t know how to BE led? 

Let’s take a look at the life of Joseph and see how he displays this character trait. 

When Joseph was only a boy, his older brothers sold him into a life of slavery. Joseph no longer had the privilege of going where he wanted, when he wanted. No longer could he run home and tell his parents about the bad day he had. He was suddenly thrown into a whole new culture. A culture who didn’t worship the one true God. A culture who had very different standards of what was acceptable behavior. I’m sure he felt like he landed on a new planet. He had a new language to learn, new foods to learn to eat, and a host of all sorts of small things to acclimate to. 

Joseph Leads Slaves

Yet, in a short amount of time we see Joseph leading the other slaves. 

“The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭39:2-6‬ (‭NLT)‬‬ (emphasis added)

The first owner Joseph had was a guy named Potiphar. Potiphar noticed things. He noticed that Yahweh, the God of Joseph, blessed Joseph, and all the work given to Joseph prospered. As a smart guy, Potiphar realized it was to his benefit to give Joseph ownership of running the whole house. 

Joseph was submissive to both Yahweh and Potiphar. We know this because Yahweh blessed Joseph in all he did. Joseph proved he was truly a man of faith in Yahweh by submitting to him in any and all circumstances. 

How Would You React

What would your reaction be if your brothers sold you into slavery? I’m thinking my flesh would be angry at them for treating me so badly and rejecting me so harshly. Then I would want to feel angry at my new owner. Who does he think he is to tell me what to do, where to go, and rule over me? I might even be angry at God for allowing me to be sold in the first place. Why couldn’t he have just saved me before getting sold? Why did he send those Ishmaelites right then? Joseph may have felt those same feelings, but we can see he didn’t let any of those feelings last long. He didn’t become bitter, angry, and live the rest of his life with a chip on his shoulder. 

Instead he surrendered those negative feelings to Yahweh, allowing God to heal the damage done by those he loved and trusted. As a result, God was able to bless Joseph in all he did. 

Do you suppose Potiphar would have given Joseph complete control of his entire household if Joseph wasn’t submissive to him in the first place? I wouldn’t. It wouldn’t matter how blessed the guy is, if he can’t submit to my authority, he doesn’t get to have very much responsibility. 

Joseph Leads in Jail

Sadly, Joseph’s time serving Potiphar wouldn’t last. Eventually he was noticed by Potiphar’s wife. She wanted him to serve her, just not in a way Joseph was willing to serve. After several attempts to seduce Joseph, Potiphar’s wife accused him of trying to rape her. Obviously this was a lie, and even Potiphar knew she was lying. Rather than call her out on her lie, he threw Joseph in jail. 

Again, we can see evidence of Joseph submitting to the guy in charge of the jail. Because Joseph was continuing to submit to Yahweh no matter what circumstances Joseph found himself in, God gave him favor. Since Joseph was submissive to the jailer, the jailer put him in charge of all of the other prisoners. Can you imagine putting one prisoner in charge of the others? Seems like a recipe for disaster. Joseph proved to the jailer he was both trustworthy and able to lead the others and was thus given the responsibility to lead. 

“(Because of his wife’s story) So he (Potiphar) took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained. But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.” Genesis‬ ‭39:20-23‬ ‭(NLT) (emphasis added)‬‬

Joseph Leads a Nation

Eventually God allowed Joseph to be freed from his imprisonment. Over the course of time two others joined the group of prisoners. Both had dreams and asked Joseph what they meant. The Lord gave Joseph the exact interpretation of each dream. Joseph asked them to remember him when their dreams came true, but sadly the one who survived forgot all about poor Joseph. Several years later the Pharaoh had a disturbing dream. He asked all of his dream interpreters what it meant, but they couldn’t give him an answer. It was then the guy who survived remembered Joseph. He told the Pharaoh about Joseph interpreting his dream, and the Pharaoh asked to see Joseph right away. 

“Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream last night, and no one here can tell me what it means. But I have heard that when you hear about a dream you can interpret it.” “It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.” Genesis‬ ‭41:14-16‬ (‭NLT)‬‬

Yahweh Helps Joseph

With the help of Yahweh, Joseph was able to interpret the dream of the Pharaoh. The dream was a forewarning about a time of plenty followed by a time of famine. Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph, he put him in charge of gathering food in preparation for the time of famine. He was officially given the title of second in command to the Pharaoh. Nobody in the whole kingdom had more power than Joseph, other than the Pharaoh himself. 

“You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck. Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was shouted, “Kneel down!” So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt. And Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭41:40-44‬ ‭(NLT)‬‬

No matter the circumstance, Joseph chose submission over bitterness and depression. Because of his choice to surrender and submit, he was given the authority to lead. Most of the time Joseph was not in an official leadership role. He was a slave and then a prisoner. Yet, we see through submitting to both God and his owners, he was promoted to leadership. 

Who Are You Leading

What group of people has God trusted you to lead? Maybe he has asked you to lead one person or many people. It doesn’t matter the number. Remember Jesus primarily led 12 people while he was walking physically on Earth. 

Are you teaching those you lead to be submissive? Who has God placed in your life to practice submission? Like Joseph, we all have someone God has placed as a leader over each of us. It may be a boss or a leader at church. If you are married you are definitely supposed to be submissive to your husband. 

For the record, submission does not mean the other person rules over you like you are a slave and they are the master. Jesus was always submissive to the Father, yet was never said to be a slave of his Father.

Joseph chose to live a life of submission to his actual slave owner, the warden in the jail, and Pharaoh. God blessed him because of his choice. God will bless your work when you choose to submit to the authority he has placed over you, and who knows who you just might be leading by example and not even realize it!