A Leader Counts His Pennies!

When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
John 6:12.
One of the great qualities of a leader is his ability to be frugal. It is obvious that if we are going to do well by ourselves as a nation we need leaders who count our pennies.
What kind of person counts his pennies? A frugal person is someone who counts his pennies. Every leader is going to need a lot of money to help him fulfil his vision. How is this money going to come? By being frugal! It was something that I had taught in my church. I believe it is a key that has helped me greatly in ministry.
I recently read a book on millionaires in America. I was surprised to find out that a study on millionaires had shown that the most common characteristic of wealthy people was frugality. I read this book many years after I had taught and written on frugality. You see, the principles are the same. A frugal person is someone who counts his pennies.
There is no limitless amount of money sitting anywhere. Many rich people are cash-strapped. Very few people have anything to spare. Years ago, when we began a building project we asked a multi-millionaire to help us with some money. Someone even offered a building as security for a loan. But the millionaire was not moved by our request. He was not even moved by the offer of the building as security. No one helped us. The Spirit of God spoke to me and said, “You will accomplish this vision if you count your pennies.”
True to His word, we counted our pennies and we accomplished the vision. Neither a wasteful person nor an extravagant person can accomplish much. Are you concerned about impressing people? Then you are not a good leader. Are you concerned about showing off expensive things? Then you are not a leader. A leader knows that in order to get to his goal he is going to have to count his pennies.
Why did Jesus ask the disciples to gather the crumbs? Was he trying to humiliate the disciples? Was he trying to keep the environment clean? No, he said very clearly that he was preventing losses. “When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be
lost” (John 6:12).
The best way to become rich is to minimize your losses. If you are the leader of a company, your duty is to minimize your losses and prevent stealing. If you can do these two things, your company will prosper naturally. If you are a political leader, aim at reducing corruption. If the money stolen from African nations were to be recovered, we would no longer need loans from the IMF or the World Bank! What do you think?
Let us all practice frugality as individuals and also pray for our leaders to count their pennies and it will be well with us!
By Dag Heward-Mills