Leadership - Fidelity and Grace
I’m thinking about great teams and those who lead them this morning. After all, it’s football season! Leadership requires vision. Vision must be both internally confirmed and real. People see right through fake vision. Men, dads, you must have a vision for your family. It’s not your dad’s or your grandpa’s. It may be similar to theirs, but God plants His mark on you and your family.
Godly leaders are people of faith who trust the promise of God. Building on shifting sand, stuff that doesn’t last, goes broke, and produces wicked, woke nonsense, comes from those following the crowds, chasing the wind and the world. Godly men are relentless, consistent, and optimistic. They have fidelity to Jesus and act like Him, always full of grace toward those around them, even those who oppose us and are openly antagonistic toward us. Yes, we may not feel like getting up and cracking open our Bible, but we do so anyway. And man, are we thankful we did.
So why all the fighting, feuding, and bitterness? Why all the corporate dysfunction in the church and the business community? Listen, civil wars aren’t new. Marital fighting, family feuds, and tribal warring are as old as Cain and Abel. But why? Because we don’t get what we want. We rewrite facts, retell scenarios in a way that makes us look good, not reflecting reality. We put selfish ambition ahead of our family, our team, and our God (James 4).
Name-calling is key to a good dispute. (I learned early in my legal career that lawyers will always have demand for their services because people love to fight—argh, I should have become a litigator…) “You men of Gilead are nothing more than fugitives from Ephraim and Manasseh” (Judges 12:4). How did that turn out for the Ephraimites? 42,000 dead. Apparently, name-calling can have consequences.
Put-downs. Belittling. Character assassination. Words hurt, like a puck on bare bone. When you call someone a liar, say they are untrustworthy, and belittle their accomplishments, there is a lasting impact. It’s hard to take those words back. “An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars” (Proverbs 18:19).
In the case of Gilead vs. Ephraim, a civil war within the tribes of Israel gives us a great example of the cost of disunity. Here’s my contention: leaders must lead by giving grace to others, but we do so through Christ's strength and our loyalty to Him. We must be peacemakers. Offer grace in fidelity to Christ. For once in your life, be the one to hug your wife and let her know you’re sorry for your biting words. To be an effective warrior, you must know and radically follow the God of Peace.
Be honest. Those of you who’ve been in the corporate trenches for a while (I’m nearing the 30-year mark) know the cycle, and you know how hard it is to stop the boardroom brawls and backbiting. None of us wants to be slighted. It’s hard to deal with and forgive those who so deeply wound us by their words, put-downs, criticisms, marginalization, etc. We can empathize with each other. I’ve had a lot more bad bosses than good ones.
But God’s leaders are to live wisely. Start by repenting of sin. As CS Lewis often said, sometimes ya gotta turn around and get on the right path before you can get anywhere. Take the initiative. Put away ego for a change. Throw off, if you will, pride and arrogance, for God couldn’t care less about our trophies. And stop lying. Stop twisting the truth. Consider the interests of others. Truly.
Common sense, insight, strength, flourishing, and success are all in God’s domain. The devil and his guys love dysfunction, civil war, arguments, ghosting those who ask for a meeting, expensive disputes, and death. Men, let’s stop attacking each other and instead choose to love God—and act like it.
Stop being jealous of what others have. Stop scheming. Stop the hurtful words. Stop chasing only what will give you pleasure. “Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God?” (James 4:4).
Be compassionate. God delights in showing us grace with His unfailing love, so why should we hold back grace from others? To be effective Christian leaders, wise and successful disciple-makers, we need constant fidelity to Christ. Rooted, radical devotion to the Great I Am.
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:15). And, “So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you” (James 2:12-13).
Lord God, please give us grace this day to humbly follow you in thought, word, and deed. We desperately need it. And help us to generously offer grace and mercy to others. Amen.
With Kari and the Crew, when Meghan was working in the UK.
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