On May 5, 2016, I had the honor of offering a Prayer for Leadership at the Wisconsin Governor's Prayer Breakfast in Milwaukee. My prayer included a desire for our leaders to have the virtues advocated by Reuel, Moses' father-in-law in Exodus 18.
At Horicon Bank, we sometimes call them Reuel's Rules for leaders. In fact, we call these our CORE virtues at the bank.
Choosing people who are capable and God-fearing was the first test for leading the people to a better place. At Horicon Bank, we paraphrase this attribute into those who are capable and committed to lead their team. The second rule is to expect truthfulness or honesty of our leaders. (This quality seems overlooked in presidential politics today.) I'm always amazed by Reuel's third rule for choosing leaders, namely wanting those who hate covetousness. It's important for good leaders to be respectful, generous and unselfish--they have to strive to develop this virtue. Covetousness is a vice that besets us all, which may be why the last of the Ten Commandments says "Do not covet..." Finally, leaders need to provide order and stability to the people they manage, according to Reuel. By providing this stability at work, leaders are giving the opportunity to achieve a healthy balance between work and home life - a balance lived out with energy. May it be so for all of us at home and at work, and for our homeland.
-Fred Schwertfeger