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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.
