At the preaching of Jonah, that doom was coming unless the people repented, the king of Nineveh took off his crown and fancy robes. He dressed in sackcloth and proclaimed a city wide fast. He set the example. His citizens followed his lead. That is power. In this case, the power was used for good. Do we have such power? Do others maybe look to us for leadership? What sort of example to we set–good or not? Do we ever stop to think that our children, nieces, nephews, siblings, neighbors, co-workers follow our lead? Maybe we would be well served to assume we are being observed and mimicked. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, we’d better be sure that we are happy with the way we are imitated.
