This is the continuation of a Business Tip1 on the traits of management gleaned from the failures of the leaders of ancient Israel recorded in Ezekiel 34. In this Business Tip, I want to continue gleaning from Ezekiel (see above text) by considering the divine response to failed management.
If you concede that God is sovereign, intentional, and strategic, then God has a will and ways for leadership and management. In other words, God ordains leaders and managers and the means and methods they should use. Scripture states that God ordains all authority; there is no authority that God has not ordained.2 This means even wicked leaders and managers are sovereignly placed in authority to accomplish God’s purpose. And God expects authority figures to comply with his will and ways. When leaders and managers fail to comply, there will be a divine response.
In the above text, the imagery of narcissistic shepherds poorly caring for their sheep was used to communicate the dysfunctionality of the Israelite leaders who failed to properly care for God’s people. The text states that the shepherds used and abused the sheep for their own purpose but ultimately the shepherds were held accountable for their failed stewardship. God responded by removing the shepherds.
Throughout history, there have been many examples of dysfunctional authority—leaders and managers who failed to comply with the will and ways of God. And as with the shepherds in Ezekiel 34, there were corresponding consequences. Consider the following prominent examples:
Adolph Hitler was an early twentieth-century leader of Germany. His narcissistic experiment with atheism failed, which led to the destruction of his country and his own death at the end of World War II.
In the early 1970s, the president the United States, Richard Nixon, covered up political espionage. His deception was exposed, which led to his resignation.
From the latter twentieth century into the early twenty-first century, a highly regarded financial pundit, Bernard Madoff, ran a Ponzi scheme until it was exposed in 2008. Many investors were defrauded, and Madoff will spend the rest of his life in prison.
In the second decade of the twenty-first century, an established and respected financial institution, Wells Fargo, engaged in deceptive business practices. The company was fined millions of dollars by the government, thousands of employees were terminated, and CEO John Stumpf left the company in disgrace.
Leaders and managers who fail to steward their responsibilities according to the will and ways of God will be discovered and removed. It just depends on God’s timing.
Here is your business tip. God is sovereignly in control of his universe and therefore ordains the existence of every person and organization. Leaders and managers are, therefore, sovereignly placed in positions of authority. Like shepherds or pastors, leaders and managers would be wise to learn from the failures of the shepherds of Israel. Every leader and manager is sovereignly given authority to represent God and therefore must seek to fulfill the purpose of God both individually and organizationally. Pastoring organizations well leads to blessings. Failure to pastor well leads to divinely determined consequences that will negatively impact the leaders and managers and, very likely, all stakeholders.
________________________
1.
http://strategieswork.net/publications/BusinessTips/2018/2018-01.htm.
2. Romans 13:1ff. 
.png)