Don't Fool Yourself...
Being placed in a position of leadership is exciting. This position can take many forms, but almost always comes with enthusiasm and a sense of accomplishment. These are not necessarily wrong, but only mark the beginning of another chapter in our journey through life. What happens next is the important part. How do we lead well? Volumes of words have been written and spoken on this topic, and it can be difficult. However, leading in church, family, or business the goal is the same. From his book Life Promises for Leaders, Zig Ziglar helps us focus on what is really important.
When we are involved in leading people or helping the disadvantaged, we can lose track of our motives. Controlling people is heady stuff. We feel powerful, and we can feel indispensable.
Paul reminds us not to fool ourselves. Humility is essential in leading and helping so that we don’t let power go to our heads. Instead of being distracted by the abilities and positions of others, we need to stop and examine only our own work and our own hearts. The measuring stick isn’t that we know more than other people or that we have more power than others. The measuring stick is Christ, who “emptied Himself” to serve.
Comparing may be a natural thing everybody does, but people in leadership need to avoid it at all costs because it feeds insecurity or pride, not humility and trust in God. On the day we stand before Christ, He won’t ask us if we were more powerful than others. He’ll ask only if we did all we could to help, serve, and give, taking responsibility for our choices-all to “fulfill the law of Christ” by helping others instead of wielding power for our own sake.
Questions
What roles do you have that can foster comparison with others?
What would it look like to “fulfill the law of Christ” in each of these roles?
Take a look
—Mike