2008-11-28
Good Morning Cherished of God,
The last two verses cited in last week’s devotion deserve a repeat here. HE 4 :15, “Our High Priest is not One Who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have a high Priest Who was tempted as we are, but did not sin.” JN 3: 17, “For God did not send His Son into the world to be its Judge but to be its Savior.” These both refer to His first advent. When He comes for the second time, He will be here as the Judge [DN 7: 13-14]. For quite awhile, the Holy Spirit has been directing me to write about judgment, as I will today. On this occasion we will look at judgments necessary as a part of being a leader. Not all of us are leaders on the job, but most adults have a leadership position in the home, in the church, and/or in our careers. A mother or father raising children definitely must lead in a godly manner. Our society’s future depends on doing a good job at it. In two parent-homes, that role must be shared peaceably. Pastors, administrators, teachers, and other leadership positions impact most people in their lives. It makes sense that while we all know that some issues are for God alone to decide, there are many more ordinary decisions that we must make in our lives. What I’m led to say actually applies to every faithful adult reading this message.
Occasionally, every leader must criticize and/or withdraw support from action being taken by those for whom he is responsible. To begin, one of the cardinal responsibilities of a leader is that he find a way to engender the respect of those working under him, or if the leader is a parent, engendering the respect of his children. One of the most important responsibilities an obediently faithful Christian or Messianic Jew has is to set an example of godliness in every decision made and action taken. Not an easy task! The “father of all lies” [JN 8: 44] would love for his temptation to bring the believer to his downfall. But because we know from 1 JN 4: 4 and EPH 1: 18-20 that the power we have to resist the devil is greater than his power to succeed with us, we must take the hard road. JAS 4: 7, “So then, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you.” That was Christ’s experience when He resisted the devil in the wilderness [MT 4: 1-11], and it will be ours if we remain godly. Why can I write this with confidence? It is because “This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength which He [the Father] used when He raised Christ from death and seated Him at His right side in the heavenly world” [EPH 1: 19-20]. Christ knows that and so should we.
An integral part of being a good leader is a lack of self-centeredness. This means caring about the well being and welfare of those for whom we are responsible. That means that RO 14: 13 is always a consideration. “So then, let us stop judging one another. Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make your brother stumble or fall into sin.” Judging in the sense meant here is being judgmental of others, even assessing their fitness to enter heaven. I am not referring here to a leader’s need to assess work done, grades accomplished in school, or ability to work with others as a team. The latter things are very much within the realm of a leader’s responsibilities. Ideally, a good leader cares deeply about the forward progress of the individuals as well as the goals set for his team or in his family. The judgments a parent must make sometimes involve correction of behavior, but in different ways than a leader in the workplace would do if there were problems with someone on his team. Any correction being made would be age and situation-appropriate.
When criticism comes our way, we must use wisdom in dealing with it. Some guidelines that help are: 1) Look for any truth in it; 2) respond with patience and godly love; 3) consider the competence of the critic and his sources; 4) pray for the Lord’s guidance. 2 TIM 2: 23-26, “But keep away from foolish and ignorant arguments; you know that they end up in quarrel’s. The Lord’s servant must not quarrel. He must be kind toward all, a good and patient teacher, who is gentle as he corrects his opponents, for it may be that God will give them the opportunity to repent and come to know the truth. And then they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who had caught them and made them obey his will.” Our emotions can easily take control, leading our tongues to be like matches put to dry wood. As James puts it in JAS 3: 5b-6, “Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame! It [the untamed tongue] is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself.” A godly leader will never work to defeat those responsible to him. Instead, he will work to make them feel like their opinions matter, their mistakes can be corrected, they have a stake in working with the leader to correct them. Wise and godly vigilance by the leader keeps problems from being allowed to go so far that correction isn’t possible. There is a reason that leaders are held to a higher standard by God than others. They influence many others, and hopefully, that influence will be godly.
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before Your mighty throne to praise and thank You for the blessing of Your presence in our lives. You have told us, in JS 1: 9, “Remember that I have commanded you to be determined and confident! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I, the Lord your God, am with you wherever you go.” We turn to You, because we are poor in spirit without You and need Your intervention in our lives. Many of us are leaders either in the home, in church, or at work. There are times when our responsibilities test our resolve to avoid temptation, lose our tempers, and say things we don’t really mean. Sometimes we feel like our spirits are being crushed by the evil words and behavior of others. Your will is clearly for us to have integrity and to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit [GA 5: 22-23]. PS 15: 1-2, “Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, works righteousness, and speaks the truth in His heart.” There are times when we must receive criticism or assess the work/ behavior of others. We beseech You to guide us to use Your wisdom in these situations. Let us learn from our mistakes, enjoy forgiveness when we correct them, and keep to Your teaching when others take unfair advantage of their positions. With our children, let us teach them to love You and be gentle and fair at the times when we must correct their behavior. You have told us, in DT 6: 5-7, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Never forget these commands that I am giving you today. Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are home and when you are away, when you’re a are resting and when you are working.” We praise You and thank You, Dearest Abba, for Your wise guidance, constant availability to us, and all the blessings of Your goodness. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Next week, I am led to continue discussing ordinary judgments we must make as leaders in the home, the church, the workplace, or any relationships we might have with others. We must also, through prayer and study of His word, have a good understanding where mankind’s ordinary judgments stop and God’s judgment takes over. In the meanwhile, if we find ourselves in difficult relationships or ones that are broken, we must never forget that our loving, compassionate Lord is with us. IS 41: 13, “For I am the Lord, your God, Who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.’” We must remember how utterly faithful our God is. PS 55: 22, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit honest men to be defeated.” His power to help us right the wrongs in our lives is both unmatched and eternal. All we have to do is to turn to Him. JER 29: 11-13, “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you not to bring disaster, plans to give you the future for which you hope. Then you will call to Me. You will come and pray to Me, and I will answer you. You will seek Me, and you will find Me because you will seek Me with all your heart.” Remember the love He has for us can’t be measured. He gave His life on the cross for us, so that we could, though our faith in Him, be saved and justified in God’s sight. What greater love can there be? If He can see fit to save a sinner with my past, He can surely do the same for anyone. These words were uttered by many people, not just myself, over the sweep of human history, including the apostle Paul. They were true then, and they will be true forever. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn