Humility

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time."  1 Peter 5:6

Image courtesy of nstanosheck.blogspot.com


We live in a culture that glorifies, and sometimes seemingly deifies, the individual. Athletes, musicians, celebrities, comedians made larger than life -- often getting caught up in and promoting their own narrative, the hype about them and their greatness. I have arrived. I am the greatest! Pay me homage, World. Show me the money! And then months or years later, we are not surprised to witness the other end of the same narrative, the crash and burn that all too often follows -- as "pride comes before a fall."

But amid this cult of personality, I am regularly encouraged by images, such as the one above, which convey that some very gifted people take cues for their conduct and daily walk from Christ, who said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart..." (Matthew 11:29). So while the world may heap praise on them, such "celebrities" go counter-culture: applying their God-given gifts to the situation at hand earnestly and humbly, as Christ modeled through his ministry, to give immediate credit and praise where it is rightly deserved -- to the Source of all gifts.

For folks like us in less conspicuous walks of life, it might be important to remember that being humble does not mean that someone has a poor self-concept; it's just that he/she is not self-centered. For as C.S. Lewis so rightly pointed out, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself but of thinking of yourself less." Such an orientation bodes well for leaders, as is made evident by John Wooden, perhaps "the greatest" coach of all time in any sport, who led the UCLA men's basketball program to 10 national championships in 12 years, including an unprecedented 7 in a row. But this humble man's comment about all these accomplishments: "It's amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit." That said, it is important to note that Coach Wooden was no shrinking violet. He expected his players to be aggressive; specifically, he expected that, if errors were to occur, that they should be "errors of commission, rather than ones of omission." In other words, while we are not to be arrogant or reckless in application of our gifts, we should apply them with great vigor of heart and soul.

In his classic book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... And Others Don't, Jim Collins found that a key reason for the rare organization of excellence was that it was led by a Level 5 leader, a person who builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical combination of personal humility plus professional will. It took years of dedicated research for Collins to arrive at this important finding. But Christ modeled this over 2000 years ago, and it's what He wants from us.

So how well are you living your gifts with great confidence and vigor, yet with deep humility and gratitude? It's what Jesus would do....
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Dear Lord, 
Thank you for bestowing on me Your gifts, both great and small, that align with Your grand purposes. Help me to know my gifts and to share them freely in ways that bring light to this world. May You always strengthen and guide me to share these boldly yet humbly -- and always with great thanks! In Your name, I pray.
Amen.

Joy

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything."                                      James 1, 1:2-4

It's very easy to be a grump these days.

Hard-line rhetoric and "us-them" positioning seems to rule the day, as if that is what advanced living and thinking is. Our world -- even our little corner of it -- seems unceasingly and increasingly locked in the sort of conflict that revels in problem-finding more than in solution-seeking, putting people in boxes that magnify division more than inform a dialogue. And contributing to all this is an environment that far too often lacks even the most basic level of human civility and common decency. Yes, it's very easy -- and popular -- to be a grump these days.

But, as this passage from James 1 reminds us, we are called to be joyful -- even (and especially) in the face of trials such as these. In fact, we are to joyfully persevere. So let us choose to set a more productive tone. Let us discern how we can serve in this place and with the people in front of us, then do so joyfully and even jovially. In so doing, we persevere in the steps of our Savior, knowing that the ability to live joyfully in a flawed world is a mark of Christian maturity.

More than anything, though, let us choose to not be just another middle-aged grump, who fails to reveal through word, action, and disposition the truth of our almighty God and His joy and peace beyond comprehension.

We set the tone. We have a responsibility to be points of light for a world in desperate need of it. So let us choose to be visible reminders to those around us that, in Christ, the battle is already won, the victory is already secure. Let us choose to go out today to live, persevere, and grow -- WITH others, in joy.

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Dear Lord,

Thank you for the gift of this day. Help me to embrace and enjoy whatever comes my way this day, in the only lifetime that I will ever have. Strengthen me so that I may persevere through whatever trials I might face to always be a reflection of Your joy and peace beyond comprehension.

In Your name, I pray.  Amen.

Do Not Be Anxious

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  

Philippians 4:6-7



Did you ever know someone who seems to never be rattled? The sky may be falling in one way or another, yet he/she is as cool as a cucumber? A dear friend and brother like this in my life is Damian. And when asked about it, Damian heads to this passage as foundational to his perspective.

In this verse, the apostle Paul is not mincing words. In fact, he writes in the form of a command: "Do not be anxious about anything" because to do so is to sin.  To do so is to fail to trust that God is big enough to handle it.

Sometimes that's easier said than done. Many of us, in our work and daily living, encounter some absolutely terrible, even horrific, things. Read the paper, watch the news, scan social media, reflect on a "bad week" and all sorts of examples and images will come readily to mind. Clearly, we live in a broken world, where the flaws of man can impinge upon our daily walk and cast our faith asunder if we are not vigilant.

At moments like these, a discipline that people like Damian enlist is to come back to this passage for strength and guidance -- and for "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding." Graced with such peace through prayer, we can then move off of the anxiety-riddled concept that we can somehow figure out, take on, and solve all the world's problems to simply discern, "How can I serve here...in this place...as an agent of light... today?"

With such discipline over time to cast my concerns on God through prayer, then free my mind to trust and serve humbly as His instrument, I allow myself to embrace -- and even enjoy -- whatever comes my way, in the only lifetime that I will ever have.  And over time, through such disciplines and through God's grace that comes from them, my hope is to one day receive a gift provided to the mature Christian: the ability to live joyfully and without worry in a broken world.
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Dear Lord,
I recall the words of the classic hymn: "Oh, what peace we often forfeit; Oh, what needless pain we bear; All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer...."  So today I cast my concerns at your feet. May I build the discipline to regularly bring my concerns through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, to You.  Then help me to let any anxiety go, knowing that, though the waters may rage, I will one day claim my eternal safe harbor in You. In the peace of Christ, I pray. Amen.

Peacefulness

"When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared."             (Matthew 13:26)

"Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don't give up."
             (Galations 6:9)

                                            In a classic segment from the sitcom Seinfeld, the wacky letter carrier Newman works himself into a lather explaining why so many folks in his line of work go postal:  "Because the mail never stops. It just keeps coming and coming and coming. And there's never a let up. It's relentless! Every day it piles up MORE and MORE and MORE. And you GOTTA get it out! But the more you get it out, the more it KEEPS COMING IN!! . . . ."

People serving others can get similarly overwhelmed to the breaking point at times. Day after day, we toil in dedicated efforts to improve the human condition. But, drawing from the passage of Matthew above, as we survey the fruits of our labor, we can at times feel defeated that somehow new "weeds" have sprouted out amidst the "wheat" that we have been trying to cultivate. The "weeds" just KEEP COMING IN!! Somehow, despite our best efforts, every day brings MORE and MORE and MORE to tend to!!

It is times like these when I have been heartened by the counsel of Galations 6:9: "Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don't give up."  

And key to not "being weary" is to accept that it is our job to simply do the good work the best that we can discern it and then leave the rest up to God. That means we don't spend time separating out the wheat from the weeds, trying to sort out the "good guys" from the "bad guys," or figuring out the tally.  No, we just do our part and leave all the rest, including the ultimate reaping, up to Him. That is the pathway toward peacefulness.

Yes, we clearly live in a fallen world. But thankfully, Christian maturity provides the ability to live joyfully in such a place -- with all its imperfections. So do your work faithfully -- and let the rest go. In so doing, you will be pursuing the pathway of peacefulness, walking in step to the words of the old standard: "Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me....."

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Dear Lord,
Thank you for allowing me to be an instrument in Your Mighty Hand. Help me to trust that, amidst my toil, no work done in Your name or for Your purposes is ever inconsequential. I look forward to the grand harvest that YOU will one day gather. In the meantime, grant me Your peace, which surpasses all understanding, to guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus. Amen. 

Courage

"You were made . . . for just such a time as this."
 (Esther 4:14)


Image courtesy of autismaspirations.com



 




"That's just not right!  What's the world coming to these days? Someone should do something about that?"

This passage from Esther reminds us how our location and position in the world is no coincidence.  The Lord has a plan for each of us and has gifted us in unique ways to carry that plan out.  But ultimately, it depends on us to act -- to let our conscience be our guide and act on the courage of our convictions.

Yes, the world has a load of problems -- and then some.  And whether the deepest of the world's problems can fully be "solved" is a topic for further discussion.  But there is no question that leadership can change the color of any situation  and that the "someone" who should do "something" about "that" is likely you. 

So listen to that "still small voice,"  build up your resolve, and dive into the situation at hand, remembering that God doesn't call the prepared; He prepares the called.  Trust that and believe in that -- for you were made for just such a time as this.... 
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Dear Lord,
Thank you for creating me with Your grand designs in mind.  Please help me to discern my place and my purpose in this world.   Then may I act confidently, knowing that, with You, I am never alone.  
For Your glory, Amen.  

Leading Others

"Admonish the idle,
encourage the fainthearted,
help the weak,
be patient with them all."
     (1 Thessalonians 5:14)


Image courtesy of www.trabucopres.com



How do I justly lead others when their needs, dispositions and motives are often so very different? If you are like me, you may have sought out assistance by reading untold numbers of books, pursued numerous conversations on the subject, tried to learn from various real-life situations over the years, etc. But in all those efforts, I have found that one of the most insightful of all sources is packaged in a simple, one-sentence recommendation from the Apostle Paul to a start-up church in Greece nearly 2000 years ago. It's the verse at the top of this post.

See, even back then, wise leaders knew about differentiated practice -- that we need to adjust our leadership to the individual and to his/her situation. And a lot of the variation in our response is based upon our assessment of people upon two dimensions: their will and their skill to do good work. For example, some folks have the skills needed. They know what to do but, perhaps because doing good work requires a great deal of diligence and dedicated effort, choose to not bring those skills consistently to bear. For those "idle" souls, correction (i.e., admonishment) is needed. Others have the skills and interest in doing good work but lack the confidence (i.e., are fainthearted). For such individuals, our main work is to build up belief in themselves so that their light can shine. Still, for another group of people, a lack of skills needed for the job make them "weak." Of course, the major work here is to help such individuals learn about and develop the key skills that will make them effective contributors to the group.

Underlying the simple wisdom of this passage is the idea that I, as leader, can discern what each person needs: admonishment, encouragement, or help. And then, when I can perceive what is truly required, that I can and will deliver what is needed, faithfully and effectively.

And perhaps that is why the closing message in Paul's counsel is to "be patient with them all." And all means you, too, as such skills will take time -- perhaps even a lifetime -- to develop. But with God's guidance and your faith in Him, you can figure this out. "It" is in you if He is in you -- guiding you and your leadership of others. Trust that and be patient with that, so that you may be patient, understanding, and effective with every sort of soul under your charge.
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Dear Lord,
Thank you for the opportunity to lead Your children. Guide my steps through Your wisdom and understanding. Strengthen my resolve to do what is needed and to be at peace with the results. Into your Loving Hands, I place my trust and faith.
Amen.

You Are Never Alone

                                                   “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  (Joshua 1:9)                                                       (Image courtesy of kasparstromman.com)

   

Years ago, during the first few days of my very first job as a school leader, a trusted colleague told me something that I carry to this day:  “Being a school leader is probably the world’s best ongoing values clarification exercise.”  And how right he was!  For as I got to know the people in my new school community, wade into the issues that accompanied their lives,  and ultimately made decisions  in line with my responsibilities, I had to sort out what I believed was right and just in a world with few “black and white” markers.  Through the process of weighing out the complex problems of human life and making my decisions, I was essentially revealing, testing and shaping my core beliefs; and given my formal leadership role in the school, I was thus, over time, also simultaneously revealing, testing and shaping the values of my school community, too.  The world’s best ongoing values clarification exercise indeed! 

Over time, I came to deeply appreciate the way the leader's decision-making responsibilities helped me to figure out who I am and what I believe in terms of core values.  But making decisions in accord with principles of what one can best discern is right and just is often not popular whatsoever.   At such times, the leadership journey seems trod on a deserted path.  Yet in such forlorn hours, we are always accompanied by our truest friend , as William Barclay perhaps says best:  "There are certain decisions which must be taken and certain roads that must be walked in the awful loneliness of our own souls.  And yet, in the deepest sense of all, even in these times, we are not alone, for never is God nearer to us." 

So, leaders, remind yourselves, the path may be lonely but beyond the gift of a life of service also comes an abiding clarity – that you are never LESS alone than when you are doing His work for his children, setting as many on the right path as you can.

                                              “Nothing before, nothing behind

                                              The steps of faith

                                               Fall on the seeming void, and find

                                              The rock beneath.”

                                                                 (John Greenleaf Whittier)

Dear Lord,

Thank you for the road that you have prepared especially for me.  Knowing that You always go before me and and are with me, let me always move with confidence and courage down that path, regardless of what may arise along the journey.  I pray that You guide me in my steps and that I may be open to Your guidance until that day when I finally arrive home with You.

Amen.