You Gotta Love this Kind of Leader

David was the people's kind of leader. 1 Samuel 18:16 says of him,

"But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them." Even while King Saul was fearing and hating David more and more, David was doing the Lord's work in fighting against Israel's enemies, the Philistines. And David was fabulously successful because "the Lord was with him." Everyone loved David but Saul, whose egomaniacal lust for first place left him to be tortured with soul-consuming suspicions.

All Israel and Judah loved David because he was AMONGST the people, personally leading the soldiers out on guerrilla campaigns against the enemies and returning with the booty. He was the common man's leader, not directing paper campaigns from an office in the palace but wielding his sword along side every other fighting man. His courage, his fighting skill, his humility, and his confidence in God quickly won over the entire nation. And an additional part of this winning formula was that David "went out and came in before them."

People might ADMIRE a leader who leads from a distance, but they LOVE a leader who leads from us close. "He's a great man but he's also one of us."

Thanks, David, for once again showing me what it's all about.