Nehemiah 5

Nehemiah was a political leader. He was appointed governor in the land of Judah by King Artaxerxes and served for 12 years. We can learn some great lessons of what it means to be a 'good politician' from chapter 5 of Nehemiah:

A good politician...

1. Has their ear to the ground, so to speak (5:6)
2. Has passion, gets angry at injustice (5:6)
3. Ponders and thinks through the issues (5:7) (notice balance in 2 & 3)
4. Brings the issue to the forefront/table (5:7)
5. Meets with other leaders to discuss the issues (5:7)
6. Makes a strong argument for his cause (5:8)
7. Allows others to counter-argue (5:8)
8. Gives a specific and precise recommendation (5:9-11)
9. Makes sure the decision is carried out (5:12-13)
10. Practices what he preaches (5:10, 14-15, 17-18)
11. Lightened the burden for the common man, lowered taxes (5:15)
12. Worked on the wall, made defense a priority (5:16)
13. Didn't designate land to institutional government (5:16)

If I had to put Nehemiah's political career into contemporary political slang, I'd say he was
1. Pro-lower class
2. Pro-defense
3. Anti-tax
4. Anti-big government