With Great Trust Comes Great Responsibility

Today I want to look at Chapter 4 from 1 Corinthians.  

Paul starts the verse out by stating "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."  In this context Paul is talking about being trusted by God to deliver the real message and being faithful to deliver it.  However, I think that we can also take this and relate it to how we should act in our day to day lives.  As leaders, people put their faith in us, and we owe it to them to be faithful in delivering on our responsibilities.  Being able to be dependable and faithful are key attributes to strong leadership.  They are also key attributes of being a good Christian.

Beginning in verse 3, Paul addresses the topic of judgement.  I am always humbled when I read this part of the chapter.  Paul states that he doesn't care if people judge him, that the only judge that matters is God.  This is a great truth that should be a guiding principle in how you act on a daily basis.  How often do we make decisions out of worry of what others might think?  How many of the leadership decision that you have made would be different if you only had to answer to God?  Additionally, when you need to make a decision that impacts those around you, what percent of the time do you look to others opinion vs. the opinion of God while you are in the decision making process?

The reason I asked those prior questions is that in the next verse Paul makes a great point...Verse 4 states, "My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent.  It is the Lord who judges me."  If we look for others' approval when we are making decisions, we can convince ourselves that we are doing what is best, yet miss the action that God would have us take instead.  Don't be fooled by a clear conscience, self rationalizing can allow you to defend actions that are, in reality, un-Godly choices.

The third main point that Paul makes at the beginning of the chapter is to not fall into the trap of judging others.  It is so easy, especially when you are in a leadership position, to pass judgement on people.  While you will have to make decisions based on information that you have, don't extend those decisions to pass judgement on the people attached to those actions.  Paul reminds us that the Lord will judge when he comes and He will "bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts.  In reality, this takes the pressure off of each of us, as leaders.  Our job is to make objective decisions based on our observations....period.  We can not know what is going on within a persons heart or head that have motivated them to take the actions.  It is just as easy to give credit to a person who committed "good" acts, for unethical reasons as it is to discredit a "bad" action performed with godly intent.  That is why only God, who is witness to all sides is the only true "fair" judge.

Pride goes hand-in-hand with judgement.  Paul transitions into this topic in verse 6.  He reminds us to stick to "what is written" so you don't take pride over another.  This is a reminder that everything comes from God, but if we are not vigilant, we can begin to believe that we are the source of the success as a result of our decisions.  He points out that nothing truly separates one man from another, other than the opportunity that God has presented, and how obedient you are in following his word.

Finally, Paul points out that he is a spiritual father to the people in Corinth and they should look to him as an example of how to stay accountable to Christ.  Through the end of the chapter he warns against people becoming arrogant.  He suggests that they look to their spiritual examples as a point of reference and understand that there will be consequences if they stray too far from where the Lord wants them to live.  Do you have a "spiritual father" that you can use to keep you grounded?  Do you refer to the Bible in order to make sure your flesh does not begin to take control?

Chapter 4 of 1 Corinthians is a very powerful chapter for leaders.  Leadership makes you vulnerable to many pitfalls.  The power that comes with Leadership makes it easy to believe that the success in the decisions that you make are all to your credit.  It makes you feel like you have the right to place judgment on people because you are responsible for the outcome.  It makes you open to believing that the results that happen are due to you.  Finally, it makes it easy for you to stop looking to God and others to keep you grounded in what is right, in order to do what you want and rationalize your actions away.

After re-reading this chapter, I have decided that I should compare my actions weekly to the guidance that Paul gives:

1. When I make decisions, am I more worried about how others will judge me or how the Lord would judge me.

2. Am I using my judgement when I'm making decisions or am I being judgmental in how I deal with others?

3. Do I convince myself that I deserve the credit for my success and that I am better than those around me, or do I understand that I am truly successful in how close I listen to the Lord and obey his direction?  All material success is a gift that can be taken away as easily as it is given (see the book of Job if you don't believe me)

4. Do I have strong spiritual leaders that I can hold myself accountable to that will keep me grounded in what my actions should be, and have the power to get me back in line if I stray?

Not of this world.....but in it.

How do we lead in this world when the Bible tells us that we should not be "of" this world, but "in" it?

In John, as well as other places in scripture, Jesus gives us the direction to be "in" the world but not "of" the world.  How do we do that and still remain relevant and effective?

I think the key is keeping in mind why Jesus left us in the world.  He had the opportunity to take the disciples with him, but in John 17:15, He asks that God leave them in the world, but keep them from the evil one.  The reason Jesus made this request of His Father was so more people of this world could come to understand and become one with Jesus and the Father.

Jesus acknowledges that because he has given them his word, that the world would hate them.  But also asks that they get to have joy through his glory.

So, as I look to un-pack John 17, I begin to see, as a leader, what my role needs to be:

1. The reason I have been left in this world is to bring the Word to those who are not one with the Father.  This can manifest itself in many ways.  Since I strive to be one with Jesus and the Father, I need to show up and participate and trust that the Lord will use me how He sees fit.

2.  I should not be discouraged when the world works against me.  The world is trying to drown out the message that I am supposed to trying to deliver.

3. My true joy will come, not through materialistic trappings, but through keeping the Word alive in the world and increasing the number of people who will become one with God.

4. If I focus my influence to do what Jesus aks, he has promised to protect me from the evil one.

The "watch out" that I consider, however, is not to let things of this world keep me from doing what I am supposed to do..As distractions of this world encroach on my ability to understand how I can help God accomplish His will through me, then I become "of" the world again.  Satan's biggest weapon of this world is noise and distraction, because while God is all-powerful, he speaks softly.  When we are not quiet and don't listen, then we miss the message that God is trying to send.  He wants us to focus on Him and listen.

So, Jesus asks that we be left in the world to spread His word, through what we say and how we live.  The self-test for you is this....
Would people look at you and how you live as different from everyone else that is living?  If not, then you are living to much "of" the world.  If you fit in too much, then you are not the light that God needs to attract others to Him.

I admit that when I look in the mirror, I often see someone who fits in more often than someone who stands out.  I know what my homework is this week....

Oh, Now I See.....

John Chapter 9 - You never know what can happen in a day

John chapter 9 contains a very famous story about a miracle that Jesus performed. There was a man who had been blind since birth who was sitting by the side of the road. Jesus, spit in some dirt, rubbed it on his eyes, had him wash in the river, and gave the man sight. Can you even imagine how happy the man must have been? Seeing for the first time as a grown man!!

The man was overjoyed and obviously told anyone who would listen what had happened to him. Word obviously spread about the good news. When the Pharasees heard about this, they had the man brought in front of them for questioning....This is where the story gets interesting.

First, the Pharasees tried to question whether the man had ever really been blind in the first place. They tried to explain away a miracle by calling the man's word into question. They even had the man's parents brought before them to verify the man had been blind since birth. So their first tactic was to discredit the source of the story. The parents were willing to testify that the man had been blind, and could now see, but they were afraid to testify to how it had happened. This often happens. People are willing to comment on the before and after circumstance, but are afraid about supporting the "how".
Let's pause for a moment to focus on the blind man's behavior to this point.

1. He was blessed with the gift of sight after years of blindness
   
2. He told anyone who would listen about what had happened and HOW it had taken
   place
   
3. When questioned by authorities, he gave an honest account of what happened
   
4. When pressed further,he began to advocate for Jesus, beginning to fill in the"why"
   of the miracle....He stated that Jesus must be a prophet because a demon would not
   do good deeds
   
5. He was willing to risk punishment and ridicule for telling the truth and not
   compromising his story, or allowing it to be dismissed.
   

At any point in this story, the man could have caved in to the pressure that the Pharasees put on him and just gone away, happy that he could see. However, we see him stand behind his story, even when his parents backed down, up to the point of eventually being cast out of the temple.

After he was cast out, we see him interact with Jesus again. Jesus revealed himself to the man and blessed him. Finally we see the story end by Jesus making a point to the Pharasees that even those who have sight can be blind to what is important.
So how does this apply to leadership?

I think there are two main things I take away from the story:

1. Weshouldalwaysbereadytospeakthetruthaboutwhatwewitnessand experience. There would have never been an opportunity for Jesus to make his point at the end of the chapter if the blind man would have just gone off by himself to enjoy his new gift of site. Leaders have to step up and be willing to make important stories public.
   
2. Whenyourstorygetspressuredbythosewhoaretryingtoexplainawaywhatis happening, you need to stand in the pocket and not let the information be trivialized or explained away.
   

This man had no idea what was going to happen to him when he woke up that morning. Jesus chose to use him and his situation to prove a point to the Pharasees. If the blind man had not told his story, and been willing to defend how and why it happened, then the teaching moment at the end would have never been possible.

I can think back to multiple times in my life when I caved to peer pressure when I knew that the right thing to do was to speak the truth. I wonder how many of those moments Jesus was trying to use to prove a point to someone who was with me. I wasted an opportunity....

I don't think the size of the moment matters because we can't predict the size of the outcome. Also, I think that God uses us in small ways, before he uses us in big ways. So as I see these opportunities in the future, I will do more to communicate with conviction and defend the facts. Then, like the story in John, I will wait for Jesus to show up and see what happens....... 

Don't Judge Me.....

Wow!  It has been awhile since I have blogged....I am truly sorry to my 4 faithful blog followers.

I am currently studying the book of  John and thought now would be as good a time as any to re-open my blog.

In Chapter 7 in John, Jesus talks about judgement.  I think that there is a good examle of a trap that many of  us fall into when we are in a leadership postition.

At the begining of the chapter Jesus tells the story of the Pharasees bringing a prostitute to him and asking him what they should do to her.  In that time, the Law of Moses dictated that the lady should be stoned to death for her actions.  Jesus is careful not to say that the lady had not broken the law, or that stoning her would be inappropriate.  However, Jesus did point out that only those who had not sinned should feel able to throw the first stone.

This is the first place in this chapter that I can see a direct coorelation to the story and how we can become better leaders.  As leaders we are called to make tough decisions.  It is also brought to our attention when someone has acted inappropriately.  In a case where there are explicit rules in place that dictate the action we must take, our course is pre-set.  Often times, however, we have an opportunity to take the course that Jesus did in the above example.....

There is a difference between aknowledging when someone did something wrong, and judging them. When we aknowledge wrongdoing, we hold people accountable for not reaching an agreed upon standard of performance or conduct.  When we judge someone, we are making a statement about who they are as a person, and what their motivation to take that action was.  There is a line of demarcation between the two.  Judgement is final and often times personal.  The lable that is often attached will follow the judged for a long time.

We see Jesus making a statement about the judgement of the prostitute, and not about her actions.  In his eyes, all wrongdoing in equal, and just because you haven't been caught, or have a different area in which someone can find fault, does not give you the right to condem others.  Once that point is made, he still addresses the prostitute and tells her to "go, and sin no more".  Notice, he corrects her actions after everyone else leaves.  Unless it is absolutely necessary, do your correction in private.

So I would challange you, the next time that you are faced with a situation where somone is caught doing something that they shouldn't and others expect you to take extreme action, to take a moment to focus on the actions of the accusers.  Knowing that everyone will eventually fall short in their performance or behavior, set the expectation that the action is what needs to be addressed and not the person.  Point out what the expected behavior/performance needs to be and communicate where the gap lies, and then help the person understand that current behavior can not be continued.

The tone that you set will be one of inclusion and of learning.  When people know that you are displeased with actions (activities that can be looked upon objectively) vs. People (personalities that will be reacted to emotionally) they will see you as a teacher, that is concerned about helping people develope and perform to the best of their abilities.  They will realize that you understand that no one is perfect, that we all fall short of God, and that you just expect your people to stop acting in a manner that is unacceptable.  Love the person, Hate the behavior.

There will always be issues that arise where people want judgement placed on those around them.  Focus on rising above the emotion, focusing on the behavior, conduct the coaching in private, and setting the expectation that the behavior will not happen again, and you should see a culture that is built on trust, learning, and motivation.

Thanks for hanging in there with me....I will try to post again on a bi-weekly basis....I would still love any feedback that anyone has....