What Makes a Good Leader
A throne established by righteousness
Many of Solomon's proverbs were written specifically with kings and rulers in mind — but the lessons apply to anyone with any kind of authority or leadership, even leading a small group, a team, or a family.
'It is not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.' A leader's self-control directly affects the people depending on their clear judgment.
'A king's wrath is like a lion's roar; whoever incurs it risks their life.' Proverbs is honest about how much power a leader's mood and temper carries — which is exactly why leaders need extra self-control, not less.
'Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure.' Real security in leadership doesn't come from force or fear — it comes from genuine love and faithfulness toward the people being led.
'If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked.' What a leader is willing to listen to shapes the whole culture underneath them. And one of the clearest warnings of all: 'when the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.' Leadership, for better or worse, ripples out into everyone it touches.
✨ Memory verse
“Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure.”Proverbs 20:28 (NIV)
Tap the words in the right order:
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🎵 Sing along: A Song for What Makes a Good Leader
❓ Quiz time!
🖍️ Printables
👨👩👧 Parent & teacher guide
Big idea: a significant, often-overlooked thread runs through Proverbs addressing how rulers and leaders should govern — self-control, listening to truth rather than flattery, ruling through love rather than fear — material originally aimed at kings but directly transferable to any position of leadership or influence a child might one day hold (team captain, older sibling, future parent, workplace leader).
Conversation starters: (1) Why might a leader's self-control matter even more than an ordinary person's? (2) What does it mean that a throne is made secure through "love and faithfulness," not force? (3) Even without a throne, where do you already have some leadership or influence — over younger siblings, in a group project, on a team?
Pray for the leaders in your own life, and for wisdom in any leadership responsibility you already carry, however small.