by THE KEYS
In ancient times, keys were very heavy and had to be carried on the shoulder. When a prime minister, for example, was to be crowned, the king would take the mantle and belt and put on him and then would place on his shoulder the key of his palace. To receive the keys meant to have full powers in the palace of the king and authority from him to administer his property, to decide who was to be received and who would be kept outside the palace. Such was the authority that was given to Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, as we read in Isaiah 22; 19-23.
Worthy to note here is verse 21, which described Eliakim the new appointee in these words: “He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the House of Judah”. These same words were applied to Peter in the gospel of Mathew 16: 13-20, especially verses 18 and 19 where Jesus hands over the keys to him saying: “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church…I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”.
The lesson(s) to be learnt here about leadership, power, and authority are very simple and instructive; to be in power is to possess keys from God. These keys are heavy; they are a burden, not a joy. You are burdened with other people’s problems, and so there is no reason for you as a leader to celebrate and call a party because you have been selected to a position. It is service, not an elevation, and you are appointed by a higher power (the king) to serve in his palace. It is not your palace. Whatever your position, IT IS NOT YOUR PALACE. It’s the kings palace.
Secondly, your position is to enable you to serve others, not lord it over them. You have become a father to those in your care, not a Lord. Yours is a privileged position to make life meaningful for others and not to cause them pain and separation.
At this stage in our history, we are looking for leaders at various levels; community leaders, church leaders, youth leaders, constituency leaders, ward leaders, etc. Recently, keys were handed to certain people. What would they make of their positions of authority? Whichever direction they may want to go, remember the words of Jesus to Peter: It is not flesh and blood that gave you that power, but my father in heaven” (Matt. 16: 17).
