2 Kings 18:1 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. ... 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). [1] 5 He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered.
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From looking at the kings it seems that the true test of godly leadership is whether one removes the high places. That means doing a thorough search of one's kingdom for competing gods and removing all idols. This has an obvious application for our own lives, for our hearts are like kingdoms which we have a bit of leadership over. We do well when we search our hearts and actively "remove the high places" - the various things that crop up as more important than our love for God and others. The best, and really the only, way to do this is to lay down your crown and let Jesus be king of your heart!
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