Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read 2 Kings 15, Nahum 1, and Proverbs 25, 15-28. This devotional is about Proverbs 25, 15-28. Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone. If you find honey, eat just what you need, lest you have too much, and vomit it up. Seldom set foot in your neighbor's house, lest he grow weary and hate you. Like a club, or sword, or sharp arrow, is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor. Like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble. Like one who removes a garment on a cold day, or vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. As the north wind brings forth rain, So a backbiting tongue brings angry looks. Better to live on a corner of the roof Than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife. Like cold water to a weary soul Is good news from a distant land. Like a muddied spring or a polluted well Is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked. It is not good to eat too much honey, or to search out one's own glory. Like a city whose walls are broken down, is a man who does not control his temper. This is God's Word. In my life, I've had positions of leadership and positions where I was following a leader. Being a good leader is hard, but at times, being a good follower can be hard, too. Being a good follower is the subject of this devotional. It's helpful to understand that the main leader sees things differently than everyone else. The main leader is accountable for the whole situation, the things he knows and doesn't know that are happening, the decisions that he makes and that he doesn't make, and the results of all of it. so the main leader is accountable for more than anyone and everyone else. Consequently, the main leader can often be slower to make decisions. A wise leader needs to consider what the outcome might be of any decision. He also needs to think about the cost of the decision. Every decision has a cost. It may cost money or future opportunity. It might cost in terms of people questioning or complaining. A decision might lead people to leaving the church, or becoming less active in the church, or in the business world, customers may take their business elsewhere. Until you are the main leader, you rarely think about the costs of a decision. Until you're the main leader, you will tend to underestimate how much a decision might cost. This can make it frustrating to be a follower of the main leader. Different kinds of people can be described as influential followers. An assistant pastor can be an influential follower. So can an elder, a deacon, or a respected church member who doesn't necessarily have a position of leadership. In other contexts, a staff member or vice president or highly skilled worker can be an influential follower. So we're talking about not the main leader, but someone who is lower and following the main leader, but still has a lot of influence with the main leader. And a customer who buys a lot can also be sort of an influential follower. When you are an influential follower, you see things that the main leader might not see or might not want to see. You see things that need improving, and you have ideas about how to improve them. You see opportunities that the main leader might not see or appreciate. I know from being in this situation what it is like to see an opportunity that the main leader doesn't see or doesn't think is important. I know how frustrating it is to know that you're right about something, but get very little interest from your main leader. It is easy to get so frustrated that you become obnoxious to the main leader, or leave in order to become the main leader or find another main leader to follow. So, what do you do if you are an influential follower, but you haven't been able to persuade the main leader to take your advice or your suggestion? You patiently keep proposing the idea to the main leader. Or, as we read today in Proverbs 25, 15, through patience, a ruler can be persuaded and a gentle tongue can break a bone. Leaders often make mistakes by not listening to others with good ideas, but followers often make the mistake of impatience when proposing new ideas. This proverb counsels us not to give up or just to leave or get mad when the main leader doesn't listen. It counsels us to be patient and to learn how to gently but persistently persuade those who lead you. Do you have a leader that is frustrating you? A parent, a husband, a boss, or some other kind of leader? Please understand that the burden of leadership in these roles is heavy. You cannot appreciate how hard it is to be the main leader until you've done it. So be patient, but don't give up trying to influence the leaders above you. Be gentle but persistent, like a stream that slowly shapes and smooths the rock it flows over. You can persuade those who lead you. but you need to approach that persuasion the right way. This proverb gives excellent advice for how to do that. If you found this devotional helpful, go to my website, dailypbj.com, slash subscribe, enter your email address there, and you'll be subscribed by email to receive these every day. And the daily email will give you some scripture passages to read, so you can be reading God's word every day, and it will give you a devotional for one of those scripture passages, so I can help you apply God's word to your life every day. Again, this is completely free and you can unsubscribe at any time. So give it a try. Go to dailypbj.com slash subscribe. And consider becoming one of my monthly supporters if you have the means to do so and you think this content is important and helpful. Go to dailypbj.com slash support for more information about that. And please share this with someone else who might be helped in their own leadership or followership. And I'll see you next time. May God bless you. Hope you have a great day today.