15But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that.
Just because our predecessor did something, does not mean we have to do it. Sometimes we just need to make a clean break from the past, leaving behind the bad habits. The people are desperately trying to finish the work on the wall that protects their city as the enemy gathers and taunts. It is during this stressing time that the truth comes out. The earlier rulers were double taxing the people. They had to provide food for the workers in the service of the Lord. That was part of the Law. But the earlier governors added a monetary tax on top of that. And from this chapter we read how they were acting “better” than the rest of the people. Their pride in the position they held went to their heads. They started to believe they really were better than the other people. Nehemiah and his immediate confidants did not have this attitude. They were right there with the people helping to build and defend the city. Anytime we think we are better than another person we are treading on thin ice. If it weren’t for the grace of God, we would all be rejected. Just because someone else is doing the wrong thing does not mean we must do the wrong thing as well. We can always change course. And as we have read several times, when new leaders arose, they were always encouraged to lighten the burden on the people as a way to encourage loyalty. Too often they did the opposite and that led to rebellion. Let’s make sure we lighten the burden and share the load. That is one of the marks of being a good leader.
The Arnold Journey 