Profiles in Leadership: Pharaoh – Attitude: My Way or the Highway

The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!” Exodus 10:27-28 The greatness of a nation does not automatically make its leader great. But in the Bible we see that Pharaoh seemed to think so. Not only did Pharaoh rule with absolute power, he also displayed absolute arrogance. He thought of himself as a god and demanded that others see him in the same way. How ironic that the wealth of that great nation, along with its power, came into Pharaoh’s possession through the hand of the Lord’s servant, Joseph. But as the years passed, when another servant of God (Moses) approached another man sitting on the throne of Egypt, an ugly confrontation erupted. Pharaoh revealed his arrogant character through his defiant response to Moses’ request that he let the people go into the wilderness to worship their God: “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go?” Pharaoh’s pride led to arrogance, and his arrogance to rigidity. In time, his heart became stone-cold and hard. It was “My way or the highway” in his mind. Of course, in the end the Israelites chose the highway and headed for the Promised Land, leaving Egypt with their pockets stuffed with Egyptian gold. And Pharaoh’s way led his army straight to the bottom of the sea. Does your leadership style ever reflect an attitude of arrogance? If so, what is your plan to change? I’d love to talk to you personally. For more on help I can provide and how you can reach me, check out… http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com