A Hezekiah Moment

Hezekiah was twenty five years old when he became king of Judah. He inherited a country in disarray and a society devoid of ethics and morals. God's standards for living were not being followed and the place of God, the Temple, was in near ruins. There was no respect for the sanctity of the holy place and this mirrored society as a whole.

From 2 Chronicles 29: 3-9
"In the very first month of the first year of his reign, he reopened the doors of the Temple and repaired them. He summoned the priests and Levites to meet him at the open space east of the Temple, and addressed them thus.

In short, he saw many wrongs and exercised leadership to right the wrongs. Immediate actions were taken for low hanging and rotten fruit.

Here was his message to the "managers and supervisors" in verses 5-11:
"Listen to me, you Levites. Sanctify yourselves and sanctify the Temple of the Lord God of your ancestors-clean all the debris from the holy place. For our fathers have committed a deep sin before the Lord our God; they abandoned the Lord and his Temple and turned their backs on it. The doors have been shut tight, the perpetual flame has been put out, and the incense and burnt offerings have not been offered. Therefore the wrath of the Lord has been upon Judah and Jerusalem. He has caused us to be objects of horror, amazement, and contempt, as you see us today. Our fathers have been killed in war, and our sons and daughters and wives are in captivity because of this. But now, I want to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. My children, don't neglect your duties any longer, for the Lord has chosen you to minister to him and to burn incense."

Well, how can we apply this wonderful story to our working world? When I read this, I think of 5s. Don't accept the filth of a workplace, the unsafe work conditions that surround you, or any disorganized work areas. As a leader, take the bold and decisive steps to sort out the clutter and waste from your organization. You stare at it everyday. It is literally a part of the work scenery. But someone must see it as the waste it is. And that someone must initiate the action to eliminate the waste.

In fact, I see this passage as a script for any leader to use. Try this-
When he became manager of the department, he immediately addressed things obviously broken. He then pulled the supervisors together and addressed them thus. "Listen to me. We have strayed from continuous improvement and have accepted chronic issues that greet us at work everyday. I want you to go back to your work area and create a new standard for work. First, clean up! Get rid of the dirt and debris that are not needed. Don't tell me we've always done it this way and don't need to change. We do. The evidence abounds. We have angry customers. Our employee morale is low. But no more. I say to you that we are making a new commitment to our customers and employees. We must lead our people. Don't forget this is your priority. To coach and lead your people, who in turn, will take care of our customers."

For our lives, I ask what is the clutter that pollutes your life? Be honest. What are the obvious things you must eliminate to improve as a person? You will never improve as a spouse, parent, or professional if you don't adjust your life to a better standard for living.