A couple of weekends ago Kalani and I were having cigars after dinner at my place. We were talking about work. We discussed opportunities within our respective organizations and the challenges of our current positions. When I received a Leadership promise email talking about promotion it made me think about my motives for wanting success and the spotlight.
Scripture reference is from The Message bible - Proverbs 25:6–7
Don’t work yourself into the spotlight; don’t push your way into the place of prominence. It’s better to be promoted to a place of honor than face humiliation by being demoted.
Before I was saved I was in the music business. I had some success as a writer, producer and recording artist. Ultimately I was frustrated because the success I achieved fell short of my expectations. In hindsight, I was frustrated because the success I wanted was self focused as opposed to being Christ focused. In some ways I wanted to be validated as a person because of the talent that I possessed. There was something missing in my life that I wanted filled with acceptance from others. I wasn’t allowing God to work in me so I could get into alignment with his will for my life. I feel God has placed in all of us the desire for greatness; this is good, but as a human being we can take things too far. After some soul searching I realized my motives weren’t right and I began down the path of following Christ. I had to let go of being so self centered to be used by God.
In his first letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul tells us that aspiring to a position of leadership is a good thing (3:1). However, there’s a difference between stepping forward to accept the responsibility of leadership and stepping forward to put your self into the spotlight for the benefit of self–promotion.
The road to biblical leadership comes through service. Don’t be fooled, there are trade offs. You may find yourselves in the spotlight, but you’ll also take the heat that often comes with that place of prominence. You’ll speak up for the sake of the mission, but you’ll also have to be willing to remain silent when it serves the mission or organization. And at any moment, you must be willing to make all kinds of sacrifices for the sake of your people or cause.
When you have the opportunity to lead, serve well. You cannot force yourself into a position God does not want you to have, nor will you miss the opportunity to serve where God desires you to be. Men, check yourselves. Do things God’s way no matter how tempting it may be to go for the glory.
Thanks, jb
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