Leaders, discourage nepotism
Preface: This is part of my 10 part series, where I deal with one principle per story. The entire series is based on my book titled, “10 Pragmatic Leadership Principles from the Bible”.
Nepotism is rampant in today’s culture. We see politicians, corporate board members, film artists, etc., trying their best to vouch for their family or friends to succeed. Nepotism isn’t completely bad since we have witnessed some extremely successful stories about a few who had the opportunity to succeed only because of their heritage.
For instance, Wipro Limited India, a multi-billion dollar conglomerate as of 2020, was started by Mohammad Premji in 1945 to manufacture and package palm oil. His son Azim Premji took over Wipro when he was just 21 to transform the company into what it is today. Nepotism worked perfectly in Wipro’s case.
Then why is nepotism considered bad? Nepotism by itself is not entirely bad since it can work either way. The downside is the “favoritism” shown just because someone is a close family member or friend, denying a fair playing ground that might fend off other deserving candidates. Leaders need to be cognizant of the company’s betterment in place of their own good. In other words, when it comes to choosing a successor or even hiring someone for an important role, it should be a level playing field.
“Let the best one win, not the one with the best influence”
The Bible does talk about nepotism and its undesirable effects. There are enough examples in the lineage of Kings about kings that succeeded their fathers just because they were entitled. They wreaked havoc in the kingdom, provoking God’s anger, while there were so many other deserving candidates who were denied the opportunity.
In the book of Acts, there is a mention of a person named “John, also called Mark” and in some versions referred to him as “John Mark”.
Acts 12:25 — When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from[a] Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
Bible historians have varied commentaries on whether John Mark is the same as Mark the evangelist who penned Mark’s gospel. There is not enough evidence suggesting this fact, but the assumption is that John Mark could be the author of the gospel of Mark. He is introduced first through his mother, Mary, whose house was a place of gathering for Peter and his counterparts.
Acts 12:12 — When this had dawned on him (Peter), he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul cites a reference to Mark, the cousin of Barnabas and again, there is no substantial evidence that this is the same John Mark mentioned in the book of Acts. Either way, John Mark gains providence in the ministry of Paul and Barnabas.
Colossians 4:10 — My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.)
For our study, we are going to assume John Mark as the cousin of Barnabas.
John Mark accompanied Paul and Barnabas in their mission.
If you look at Barnabas’ life history, he is mentioned as a good man, full of the holy spirit and faith. He traveled to Tarsus to look for Paul and brought him to Antioch, where both of them ministered to the people there. The Church of Antioch was one of the earliest in the history of Christianity.
Acts 11:24–26 — 24 He (Barnabas) was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year, Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Later, the Church in Antioch prayed, and in accordance with the leading of the Holy Spirit, Paul and Barnabas were sent on a mission to numerous parts of Asia. They took John Mark with them as their helper. They traveled to Paphos and then to Pamphylia, where for reasons unclear, John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem.
Acts 13:13 — From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.
Paul and Barnabas continued their journey further to Pisidian, Iconium, Lycaonia, Attalia, and eventually returned to Antioch after an eventful mission trip.
Sometime later, Paul proposed to Barnabas about revisiting the places they had completed the mission to encourage and uplift the new believers. Barnabas insisted on taking John Mark with them, but Paul objected since he deserted them in Pamphylia while on a mission trip. The Bible records that there was a sharp disagreement such that Paul and Barnabas decided to part ways.
If you read Chapters 13 and 14, it talks about Paul and Barnabas’s powerful and fruitful mission. They challenged authorities, even escaped riots and death during their adventurous journey. Yet such a mighty ministry was suddenly brought to an end on a trivial issue like taking John Mark with them or not.
Paul’s justification of why John Mark does not qualify to rejoin the ministry was based on his past failure to endure mission trips. There is no valid explanation for Barnabas to have a strong inclination towards John Mark, even to the point of him willing to jeopardize the team’s mission, except for the fact that he was his cousin.
Sadly, they parted ways and Paul chose Silas to continue his mission, whereas Barnabas insisted on John Mark and took him to Cyprus, bringing a powerful duo ministry to an end. Going by the assumption that John Mark was the cousin of Barnabas, he had to stand up for him because of family ties. It goes on to explain how nepotism can sometimes cause severe damage to the team and its mission. It blinds a leader of the true aspirations of the team and makes them narrow-minded. Instead of chasing goals, the leader begins to chart out schemes to bring their favorite person inside the team, irrespective of that person’s credibility.
In one of the teams I worked for, the leader wanted to bring a particular person of their choice inside the team even though the rest of the team and a few superiors were not in favor of that decision. The leader went on to make so many compromises and adjustments to rules just to bring that person into the team. In the process of this, so many deserving candidates were purposefully declined and the final decision was made to hire them. The new hire went on to become a pivotal cause for divisions later in the team and they continued with their divisive politics since the boss always favored their decisions.
“Leaders, chase what’s worthy, not what’s appealing”
TO READ: 1 SAMUEL 2:12–36
When Eli was ministering as the high priest at the Lord’s sanctuary, his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were acting without reverence to the Lord. According to God’s law, the descendants of Aaron are destined to serve as priests. Eli, like Aaron, was a Levite and inherited the job of the priest. His sons would also assume the position after Eli’s death. But both of them felt entitled and exploited their position to commit sins right under the nose of their father.
They would send servants to bring them the meat from the sacrifices people offered to the Lord. They empowered the servants to use force if anyone denied it. They even went to the point of misbehaving with women at the temple of God — all detestable acts in the eyes of God.
When Eli was informed about their misconduct, he counseled his sons to watch their ways. But he did not take any adverse steps to put an end to the blatant misappropriation by his sons. He warned them and left it to themselves hoping he had done his part.
1 Samuel 2:23–25 — 23 Eli said to them, “I have been hearing reports from all the people about the wicked things you are doing. Why do you keep sinning? 24 You must stop, my sons! The reports I hear among the Lord’s people are not good. 25 If someone sins against another person, God can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede?” But Eli’s sons wouldn’t listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to put them to death.
But God wasn’t pleased with Eli’s sons; neither was he pleased with Eli’s willingness to restore the law in God’s sanctuary. So God sent a prophet to warn Eli about his lack of leadership. Eli was in a rather tricky position to judge since it was his own sons and always had a soft spot for them. The word of the Lord was loud and clear.
1 Samuel 2:29 — So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me — for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel!
Eli’s inaction was a concern for God. His inability to take a tough call against his own sons was treated as honoring his sons more than God himself. As a result of this, not only Eli and his sons, but his entire descendants were subjected to a curse.
1 Samuel 2:31 — The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age.
When Eli and his sons died, Samuel took over as the priest of the sanctuary of God. The lesson to be learned from Eli’s life is very crucial for today’s leaders. Eli is a leader who refrained from admonishing those who brought shame to the workplace because of his relationship ties. He did not act and the repercussions were evident.
Barnabas was in a similar position as Eli and had to choose between ministry and family bonds. He chose family at the cost of having a disagreement with his fellow worker Paul and putting an end to a fruitful ministry.
Paul appears to have reconciled with John Mark and even appreciated his help later in his books.
2 Timothy 4:11 — Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
This is a regular happening in our corporate lives. We get to see people of influence continually being able to climb the ladder, while real talent and hard work are sometimes pushed to the back seat. Leaders are sometimes driven to favor a few because of pressure from above. It might be tough to ignore and could cost a job, but it is the responsibility of a leader to provide a level playing ground to all.
“A leader should not succumb to pressure and compromise on values”
Excerpt from: 10 Pragmatic Leadership Principles from the Bible available on Amazon
