July 20, 2026
- William T. Howe Ph.D.
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Business by the Book
I Chronicles 12:28 And Zadok, a young man mighty of valour, and of his father’s house twenty and two captains.
The third leadership trait that we see in the men who assembled to make David the King of Israel is valour (today we spell it valor).
Zadok is singled out for being a man of valor, but all of the men who came to David also demonstrated this character trait. The word valor is defined by Strongs Bible Concordance as “strength, might, efficiency, wealth, army.”
Great leaders, uncommon leaders, and leaders of leaders many times are people of valor. They are strong, mighty, efficient, oftentimes wealthy, and they realize that to succeed takes an army of likeminded individuals.
Anyone can “go along” but it takes people of valor to do what is right, what needs to be done, and what is sometimes unpopular. There is a character in a book about the civil war of whom it was said, “He is so contrary that if you threw his dead body in a river it would float upstream.” This may be extreme, but it is a good illustration of the way people of valor are sometimes described.
Sometimes these types of people seem to be against the common mindset of the day. They just see things differently for they look through the prism of truth, urgency, justice, action, and principle. These, as well as other honorable attributes cause people of valor to see things from angles that others cannot perceive.
The people who formed our nation into that which we commonly take for granted were not common people. They were uncommon for they, in large part, were individuals of valor. Leaders by definition go before the populous, they lead the way. Leading the way is always difficult, for followers cannot always see that which the leader sees. Therefore, leaders will always benefit from having a character that exhibits valor.
Zadok, a young man, lived a long time ago. His time is over, this is our time; let us also go forth in valor. Where are the men, especially the young men, of valor today?
Dr. William Howe
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