Word for the day: “Love and leadership are a game changer.”
Corinthians 16:13 (NLT) Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. [c] Be strong. 14 And do everything with love.
Beloved Leaders,
I sincerely believe effective leaders demonstrate love through care, patience, and self-control when interacting with superiors, subordinates, and colleagues. Although there are a plethora of leadership styles, today I want to share some practical yet powerful insights about leaders who operate under the principle of love.
LEARNING HOW TO DO LIFE IN THE SPIRIT OF LOVE IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE.
Almost everyone has at least one person they love, but we also have someone we deeply resent or despise. Sometimes, the person you love can also be the same person you despise. It could be a parent, spouse, sibling, boss, rebellious child, neighbor, friend, or sometimes even God. Who is that person for you? Living in a love-hate relationship isn’t easy. It requires highly complex and refined coping skills.
The problem, however, is that too many people go on, day after day, merely coping with the situation. Either they’re unaware that they can do more than cope, or they are unwilling to do what is necessary to move forward constructively. Those who resigned to cope with the situation are merely not happy people. Whether they stay in the relationship or leave, they render themselves powerless to change. They lose faith in the power of God to change the situation. They give up on prayer to facilitate change. I’m suggesting that when leaders pray and love their people, things happen.
THE PROCESS OF HOW TO LIVE AND LOVE IS CHALLENGING.
Maturity, both physical and spiritual, is developed over time. Just as the human body changes to reach maturity, God puts us through a process to become spiritually mature. It’s been my experience that God does this through tests and trials. God has a plan for our lives and understands why we must go through the process to that end.
One of the hardest things to learn about God’s love is that it sometimes causes us pain. Not necessarily in a physical sense or in the way we might expect, but the emotional pain that is directly connected to our personal maturation is needed. Because this form of love is not what we expect, we resist, resent, and even become distressed with God. We will experience a very similar process in our relationships with spouses, family, and friends.
So, I encourage you today to work through your love-and-hate relationships until you are able to make authentic, informed decisions. Please remember this can take some time and go through a process but be advised that “love wins” whether things go as you hoped or not (I Corinthians 13:13).
POINT TO PONDER
Do you love your family, your team, and your colleagues in your leadership role or assignment? The people in your sphere of influence really need your love and belief in them. I believe that leaders who love what they do and love who they do it with will have a ginormous impact on people's lives and the world we live in.
Always remember in your leadership work to incorporate prayer, but also remember our challenge goes beyond prayer:
The beginning of a solution lies in your decision to act.
Set boundaries that incorporate respect, honesty, and truth.
Growth in leadership should be a requirement.
Move forward by taking actionable steps:
To grow in your leadership, get a coach or a counselor, or join a group to learn how to confront in love, and God will do the rest.
As a leader, work to align your life with God in this process.
Be advised, as a leader, that making destiny decisions based solely on your feelings can be a disaster.
Learning how to love in your leadership is a game-changer.
Special Thanks,
Chief Encouragement Officer (CEO) James Baker, Jr., and our leadership team are incredibly thankful to those aligned with us. Help us equip this generation of leaders for their God-given assignments. Your generous donation supports our labor of love, From Grace and Truth Leadership's mission to embrace, empower, and encourage leaders and emerging leaders globally.