The Bible records in Acts Chapter 10 that the
Biblical Centurion of Caesarea called Cornelius was a devout man who feared God
alongside his entire household; he also gave alms generously (it is one thing
to give alms and another to give it generously as one can give out of
obligation but generous giving comes from the heart. Additionally, Cornelius
had the wonderful habit of praying to God always.
A leader who prays to God always is simply saying by
that singular action that s/he has no power of his or her own and that s/he is
wholly dependent on God for everything – his or her trust, confidence, mental
processes, decisions and actions are guided by God alone. While such leaders
are rare gems, they are greatly desired and urgently required in any nation. This
is because such leaders will not take laws into their hands; they will not act
according to the dictates of their flesh like Ahab who coveted Naboth’s
vineyard and assented to the murder of Naboth so he could own Naboth’s
vineyard. They will not be like Nebuchadnezzar who ordered the immediate
execution of the wise men in Babylon simply because they could not his dream
and the interpretation, same Nebuchadnezzar who raised up a statue and called
for human worship and when Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego defied him , he had
them thrown into the fiery furnace which fortunately did harm them.
Beloved, there are other rulers in the Bible and
history who did far worse than these two Kings. That is because they were not
dependent on God and they were not dependent on God because they had no fear of
God.
