Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we did not acquire any land. – Nehemiah 5:16

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 26, 2017): Nehemiah 5

Former President Jimmy Carter Made a stop in the city I call home earlier this year. His stop was in support of a “Habitat for Humanity” build here in the city. Admittedly, if you lived in that section of town, you couldn’t miss that something was going on. Streets were filled with Police and the protection detail that almost shut down that part of the city. And, of course, there were the sightseers that just wanted to catch a glimpse of the over ninety-year-old Former President with a tool belt buckled around his waist and a hammer in his hand, all to help build a house.

The truth is that Jimmy Carter (James Carter just doesn’t seem to fit) has revolutionized the way that former presidents are expected to act. We can argue about Carter’s legacy as a President of the United States and, although in recent years our regard for his presidency has risen significantly, he still does not rank among the best of Presidents. But there is little doubt that Jimmy Carter is the model of how a past president should use his influence following his time in the Oval Office. Among past presidents, he is the best. And part of the reason why he is considered the best is that the Former President has never been scared to roll up his sleeves and get to work.

Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the King. The cupbearer was a position of honor and prestige. But Nehemiah took some time off from that position to act as Governor of Judea – his homeland. In either position, Nehemiah was the one who commanded others. What he said was expected to happen. But Nehemiah was not willing to sit in an office and control the people out of a place of comfort. If a wall needed to be built, then he would roll up his sleeves and work at building the wall. And it was not just the governor that raised the expectation. If the leader was going to work, then so were the ones who worked with the leader.

It is a characteristic of a good leader. Leaders don’t just instruct what they want to be done. He works at the task, setting the example for those that follow. In this, it seems that Nehemiah and James Earl Carter were very similar people. They were not afraid to work at the dream that they were building – and by work I mean they rolled up their sleeves and set their hands to the task.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 6