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All leaders face, at one point in their life or another, a piece of news that impacts the direction their career was going. It could be not getting the promotion that you were going for. It could mean getting a poor performance evaluation. It could even mean losing your job. The easiest time to lead, is when you are feeling confident. Decisions come easier, you are more convicted and convincing, and your belief in your cause is un-shakeable. The million dollar question is, what happens to your leadership when your confidence falters?
Before you can answer that question, You need to understand where your confidence was coming from in the first place. I would suggest that if you believe that you were the reason for your perceived success, your approach to your leadership may be slightly different than if your confidence comes from knowing that God has a plan for you, and you are heading in the direction that he has planned.
Where things get a little bit tricky is when you know that God has a plan for you, but your pride gets in the way of letting that plan work out the way God intended. How often have you felt that you deserved something, or that the company or somebody "owed" you something, when things did not turn out the way that you expected? Did you ever stop to think that God knows exactly why you received the news that you did, and if you don't stop complaining, or acting angry, you might miss the opportunity that God is providing you.
Let's consider Jesus for a moment. He received some news from his father that was definitely going to impact his future plans. After hours of prayer, Jesus understood that he was going to have to go through amazing hardship and pain by the hands of strangers. He did nothing to deserve this treatment. He had been a great teacher and healed many people in agony, yet he was told that he was going to have to suffer.
Many things could have gone through his mind. "Do these people know who I am?" "Do they have any idea what I could do to them if I wanted?" "Why is this happening to me?" "I don't deserve this!"
"All I was doing was trying to help people."
All of these complaints would be justified. You could definitely be sympathetic to his situation. The problem is that all of the above statements are prideful. Pride takes place when you think of yourself before others. Pride also happens when you think you are in control of your situation and not God.
Lucky for all of us, Christ decided to walk in faith that the situation that was presented to him was what God wanted to have happen. Although no one can imagine the struggle, betrayal, pain, and anguish Christ went through, the result changed the life of all believers, forever. There could never have been a resurrection, if Christ had fought the circumstance in which God had placed him.
So the next time you are challenged with a set-back, or a disappointment, instead of getting angry, and being prideful, or panicking, walk in faith that God is using this situation for his purpose, and you may find yourself in a place that you never thought possible.
"How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog-it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that." James 4:14
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Pride and Humility
The privilege of leadership is a blessing from God. The best leaders make the best use of the gifts that God has given them, combined with the timing and opportunity to use them. In previous blogs, I have discussed the importance of understanding your spiritual gifts, and asking the Lord to help you use them for his purposes through your leadership.
Today, I wanted to take some time to discuss what happens when you don't pray about how best to use your gifts, or for God's will to be done.
We can all think of that leader, that had everything going for them, and them ended up in utter ruin, while everyone wondered what happened. For most of the stories that you can recall, the culprit of the downfall was pride. Go back to the beginning of time....Adam and Eve had EVERYTHING that they could ever want. The Lord only asked that they not eat from the tree of knowledge. However, the serpent was able to appeal to Eve and Adam's pride. He convinced them that they could do whatever they wanted and that if they took matters into their own hands, they could be as powerful as God. That moment of Pride, changed the course of humanity forever.
Throughout the Bible there are warnings about the dangers of Pride....Sampson lost his strength because he felt he could choose who to share his secret with. Saul lost his kingdom, because his pride led him to believe that he could work on his own timeline and not wait for Samuel. Pharaoh, ultimately lost his first born son, because he would not bend to the will of God.....
In Proverbs, the writer states that Pride comes before the fall. So as a leader, how do you avoid the fall?
1. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourself (Philippines 2:3) Have you ever found yourself using your power or position or influence to do something, just because you can? Have you been irritated because you did not get the position at a table in a meeting? Have you ever expected to be treated better than subordinates, due to your title? At meetings, do you expect a different sleeping room than others? Do you expect extra perks? When was the last time that you appreciated all of the things that people do well in order for you to even let your leadership be effective?
2. Look not to your own interests, but the interests of others. (Philippines 2:4) This is the number one rule to guard against Pride ruining your leadership. Pride is non-existent when you are thinking and working for others, more than for yourself. You can't feel that you are being slighted, when your focus is on helping someone else. Pride, by definition, can only take place when you are focusing on you, and not others.
3. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. (James 3:16) Have you ever found yourself frustrated because you seem to be stuck in a rut, while you see others seemingly move ahead? How does that feel? We should be happy and supportive when others succeed. The Lord has us exactly where he wants us, in order for his will to be accomplished. Instead of worrying about how soon you can get "what you deserve", why not invest in doing your best to help those in the place that you are?
As always, Jesus gives the best example of how to lead with humility and grace. Jesus never expected to be treated better than anyone else, in fact, he actively served others, instead of expecting them to serve him. He had the power to do anything he wanted, yet he chose to lead by example. You never heard Jesus complain about how he was treated. Instead, he allowed people to crucify him on a cross, in order for God's will to be done.
Pride is the most dangerous tool that the Devil has to ruin a leader....It leads to false expectation, greed, arrogance, and jealousy. So remember:
Pray: To the Lord for his guidance on the best use of your skills.
Focus: On others, remember, your pride can't get out of control if you are not focused on yourself
Monitor: Take time each day to review your actions and interactions. By staying vigilant, your chances of losing control of your pride decrease
Apologize: The best way to mend your prideful actions is to find those who were the recipients and show them that you understand that your actions were not pure and that you are sorry.
Today, I wanted to take some time to discuss what happens when you don't pray about how best to use your gifts, or for God's will to be done.
We can all think of that leader, that had everything going for them, and them ended up in utter ruin, while everyone wondered what happened. For most of the stories that you can recall, the culprit of the downfall was pride. Go back to the beginning of time....Adam and Eve had EVERYTHING that they could ever want. The Lord only asked that they not eat from the tree of knowledge. However, the serpent was able to appeal to Eve and Adam's pride. He convinced them that they could do whatever they wanted and that if they took matters into their own hands, they could be as powerful as God. That moment of Pride, changed the course of humanity forever.
Throughout the Bible there are warnings about the dangers of Pride....Sampson lost his strength because he felt he could choose who to share his secret with. Saul lost his kingdom, because his pride led him to believe that he could work on his own timeline and not wait for Samuel. Pharaoh, ultimately lost his first born son, because he would not bend to the will of God.....
In Proverbs, the writer states that Pride comes before the fall. So as a leader, how do you avoid the fall?
1. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourself (Philippines 2:3) Have you ever found yourself using your power or position or influence to do something, just because you can? Have you been irritated because you did not get the position at a table in a meeting? Have you ever expected to be treated better than subordinates, due to your title? At meetings, do you expect a different sleeping room than others? Do you expect extra perks? When was the last time that you appreciated all of the things that people do well in order for you to even let your leadership be effective?
2. Look not to your own interests, but the interests of others. (Philippines 2:4) This is the number one rule to guard against Pride ruining your leadership. Pride is non-existent when you are thinking and working for others, more than for yourself. You can't feel that you are being slighted, when your focus is on helping someone else. Pride, by definition, can only take place when you are focusing on you, and not others.
3. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. (James 3:16) Have you ever found yourself frustrated because you seem to be stuck in a rut, while you see others seemingly move ahead? How does that feel? We should be happy and supportive when others succeed. The Lord has us exactly where he wants us, in order for his will to be accomplished. Instead of worrying about how soon you can get "what you deserve", why not invest in doing your best to help those in the place that you are?
As always, Jesus gives the best example of how to lead with humility and grace. Jesus never expected to be treated better than anyone else, in fact, he actively served others, instead of expecting them to serve him. He had the power to do anything he wanted, yet he chose to lead by example. You never heard Jesus complain about how he was treated. Instead, he allowed people to crucify him on a cross, in order for God's will to be done.
Pride is the most dangerous tool that the Devil has to ruin a leader....It leads to false expectation, greed, arrogance, and jealousy. So remember:
Pray: To the Lord for his guidance on the best use of your skills.
Focus: On others, remember, your pride can't get out of control if you are not focused on yourself
Monitor: Take time each day to review your actions and interactions. By staying vigilant, your chances of losing control of your pride decrease
Apologize: The best way to mend your prideful actions is to find those who were the recipients and show them that you understand that your actions were not pure and that you are sorry.
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