By Gary Roberts
Robertson School of Government
Luke 12:47-49 (King James Version)
47And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. 49I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Christ commands us to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength and our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus demonstrated His love of the father by obeying him in all stages of his life, as a child, as an inquisitive youth, his early adulthood spent as a carpenter, and throughout his ministry from the testing in the wilderness, the agony of the Garden of Gethsemane, to his humiliation, separation and death on the cross. Because of his obedience, Jesus transformed defeat to eternal victory through the resurrection redeeming us from sin. Servant leadership is a high calling, as it requires dying to the self and promoting the interests of others over our own. If we love God, we will not only be hearers of the word, but doers as well. When we die to the self in the workplace, it produces a pleasant fruit that releases the presence and power of Christ to change lives. The MA program embraces servant leadership not as a utilitarian management tool that benefits the bottom line, but as an internalized value and character orientation that promotes golden rule love irrespective of the external consequences. We should issue a disclaimer regarding servant leadership. Knowledge of servant leadership principles absent their application leads to character growth stagnation. Knowledge of servant leadership principles and a superficial application generates hypocrisy ship wrecking the faith of others producing a bitter fruit of self-condemnation. To whom much is given, much is required. Let us all pledge as instructors and students to a relentless commitment to loving and leading others as Christ demonstrated, encouraging on a regular basis, teaching and counseling others, listening with open hearts and minds, investing our precious time in relationships, and providing accountability and loving discipline. To God be the glory!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Facing the Giants
By Gary Roberts
Robertson School of Government
Deuteronomy 1:27-29 (New Living Translation) You complained in your tents and said, ‘The Lord must hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered. Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!”’ “But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them!
Where are the giants in your life that impede the expansion of your physical, spiritual and emotional territory? I was greatly blessed by the film “Facing the Giants” about a losing football coach who used biblical principles to bring revival in himself thereby providing the spark for a Holy Ghost firestorm that ignited his family, the football program, the school, and an entire community. One of the “fear-busting” principles he employed was to redefine what “victory” entails. In order to attack the giants, the first step is to identify the enemy. The real adversary was not an absence of talent as God leverages whatever gifts and abilities we are given to achieve His will and goals, nor was it a low level of motivation as they all wanted desperately to win, the root cause was their belief that losing made them “losers” thereby agreeing with the “Gospel” of the secular worldview that accomplishments (the wins and losses of life) are the foundation of our identity.
This “vain imagination” belief created giants of fear that grew more powerful with each loss generating enslaving self-fulfilling prophecies of discouragement yoking the players and coaches with a slow growing cancer of negative self-image. The coach discovered the Kingdom principle that Godly victory is not achieved through a winning record, but the slow cultivation of Christ-like character as we endure and grow through trials and tribulations. He redefined the definition of team success by adopting the principle that we are stewards of our God-given gifts and abilities and that we honor and worship the Lord by giving our best efforts in pursuit of team goals regardless of the circumstances and the ultimate outcomes. The outcome of our efforts is God’s responsibility, not ours. We plant and reap, but only God gives the increase. “Winning” is realizing the collective potential of the team as each member dedicates himself to developing his God-given talents to support the communal efforts of the squad (the body of Christ).
Winning occurs when we exert every ounce of our energy in a God-honoring fashion playing by the letter and spirit of the rules of the game. As the coach stated, when we win we give God the glory, and when we lose we still praise Him. Atheists and agnostics ridicule the notion of prayer before football games, but they miss the essential Kingdom principle that in God’s economy He uses all circumstances to shape our character. Winning challenges us as we are tempted to worship our “greatness”, while losing tempts us to yield to despair and hopelessness (curse God and die) denying the power and providence of God to yield good fruit through all circumstances. Hence God concurrently uses winning and losing in a football the game to realize His unique purpose for each individual player and coach. God is the master efficiency expert who created this wonderfully complex and intricate universe, and He is well able to use winning and losing to reveal the hidden motives of the human heart and promote self-knowledge, learning and discovery. The coach discovered that great power occurs when we truly embrace Romans 8:28 that all things work out for the best for those who love God and are called according to His purposes. Let us all agree to “face the giants” in our lives recognizing that victory occurs by obeying and praising God in all circumstances. If we follow these principles, we can truly embrace the Apostle Paul’s’ joyous observation that we are more than conquerors through Christ who strengthens us.
Robertson School of Government
Deuteronomy 1:27-29 (New Living Translation) You complained in your tents and said, ‘The Lord must hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered. Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!”’ “But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them!
Where are the giants in your life that impede the expansion of your physical, spiritual and emotional territory? I was greatly blessed by the film “Facing the Giants” about a losing football coach who used biblical principles to bring revival in himself thereby providing the spark for a Holy Ghost firestorm that ignited his family, the football program, the school, and an entire community. One of the “fear-busting” principles he employed was to redefine what “victory” entails. In order to attack the giants, the first step is to identify the enemy. The real adversary was not an absence of talent as God leverages whatever gifts and abilities we are given to achieve His will and goals, nor was it a low level of motivation as they all wanted desperately to win, the root cause was their belief that losing made them “losers” thereby agreeing with the “Gospel” of the secular worldview that accomplishments (the wins and losses of life) are the foundation of our identity.
This “vain imagination” belief created giants of fear that grew more powerful with each loss generating enslaving self-fulfilling prophecies of discouragement yoking the players and coaches with a slow growing cancer of negative self-image. The coach discovered the Kingdom principle that Godly victory is not achieved through a winning record, but the slow cultivation of Christ-like character as we endure and grow through trials and tribulations. He redefined the definition of team success by adopting the principle that we are stewards of our God-given gifts and abilities and that we honor and worship the Lord by giving our best efforts in pursuit of team goals regardless of the circumstances and the ultimate outcomes. The outcome of our efforts is God’s responsibility, not ours. We plant and reap, but only God gives the increase. “Winning” is realizing the collective potential of the team as each member dedicates himself to developing his God-given talents to support the communal efforts of the squad (the body of Christ).
Winning occurs when we exert every ounce of our energy in a God-honoring fashion playing by the letter and spirit of the rules of the game. As the coach stated, when we win we give God the glory, and when we lose we still praise Him. Atheists and agnostics ridicule the notion of prayer before football games, but they miss the essential Kingdom principle that in God’s economy He uses all circumstances to shape our character. Winning challenges us as we are tempted to worship our “greatness”, while losing tempts us to yield to despair and hopelessness (curse God and die) denying the power and providence of God to yield good fruit through all circumstances. Hence God concurrently uses winning and losing in a football the game to realize His unique purpose for each individual player and coach. God is the master efficiency expert who created this wonderfully complex and intricate universe, and He is well able to use winning and losing to reveal the hidden motives of the human heart and promote self-knowledge, learning and discovery. The coach discovered that great power occurs when we truly embrace Romans 8:28 that all things work out for the best for those who love God and are called according to His purposes. Let us all agree to “face the giants” in our lives recognizing that victory occurs by obeying and praising God in all circumstances. If we follow these principles, we can truly embrace the Apostle Paul’s’ joyous observation that we are more than conquerors through Christ who strengthens us.
Monday, December 19, 2011
A Great Blessing of Thanksgiving: God’s Divine Attributes
By Gary Roberts
Robertson School of Government
2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
As we reflect on the blessings of Thanksgiving, I urge you to meditate and be thankful for God’s attributes. One of the greatest gifts of God is the comfort He provides as we trek through the “worldly sorrow” emotions that burden our souls. When we are lost in the wilderness of pain, sorrow, self-pity, depression, and fear, His healing rain provides sweet relief. When we seek the Lord with an earnest desire, we find a gentle voice that eases the pain with His tender touch. Below are eight principles of divine comfort that are water on the lips of a man parched in the desert.
Principle 1): Eternal Love: God did, does and will always love you and I unconditionally. If you doubt this, remember that Jesus sacrificed the most for us when we were at our worst! He first loved us while we were sinners mired in our unsaved state of condemnation.
Principle 2): Unconditional Forgiveness: What a joy to realize that we are blessed with 360 degree eternal forgiveness! Jesus forgives all my sins, past present and future. The blood of Jesus protects and cleanses us and quiets the voices of fear, guilt, condemnation, shame, and doubt emanating from our flesh and the demonic realm. Jesus is tearing down the walls and identifying all the sources of unforgiveness. Take comfort, as Jesus is our advocate, lawyer, and redeemer!
Principle 3): Amazing Grace: Grace is God’s love in action. It involves all elements of the trinity, and is most fully developed in the New Testament redemptive covenant of complete forgiveness of sins. Remember that grace covers every failure, sin and weakness. Grace is the foundation for abundant living. Ponder the formula that ongoing weakness + God’s grace = Abundant Life. Embracing grace is one of the most powerful forms of belief and faith. It is a sin of pride to reject God’s grace. We must humbly accept this great gift and apply it liberally to our wounds, sins, temptations and weaknesses. The Holy Spirit is the comforter, teacher counselor, and provider of grace. God’s grace is always with us and we must build our homes upon its rock solid foundation. Grace softens and purifies the motives of our heart freeing us from the bondage of legalism and a spirit of works. When we desire to earn a reward from God, it is very easy for Satan to transform our motives into a “works spirit” that becomes a cruel taskmaster given the need to perform and accomplish instead of simply being in relationship. Grace meets us where we are at, and we do not need to be “cleaned up” as the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) clearly illustrates when the father runs towards the distantly viewed son and then joyously hugs and embraces his pathetically downtrodden and sin-stained child.
Principle 4): God is Patient: God is never frustrated or angered in human emotional terms. He is patient whether I obey or not, act or not, agree or not, and this takes away the burden of legalistically having to please God. We don’t have to change all at once, only God can provide instantaneous transformation, and in most cases it is contrary to His will to “zap” us given that we need gradual transformation to build character, faith, patience and empathy. These attributes are the foundation of a ministry of healing that God creates with our tears and scars. The comfort we are given, we give to others. Don’t despise the day of small beginnings and remember that the Lord will not let us be tempted and tested beyond our ability to bear.
Principle 5): God is Responsible for the Increase: God, not our efforts or talent, is responsible for the fruit, the healing and the change, both within us and with others. This reduces the pressure to “perform” and reinforces the power of Godly excellence which entails embracing obedience, humility and character growth. This assurance enables us to love others and ourselves in the appropriate fashion, with the combination of support/encouragement and necessary “tough love” accountability. We must always ask for the Lord’s power and guidance to base our motives on agape love which helps guard our heart from guilt, condemnation and manipulation.
Principle 6): God Will not Test Beyond Our Ability to Endure: Romans 8:28 clearly states that all things work out for the best for those who love God. This means that in all circumstances, the Lord will not test or tempt beyond our ability to bear the burden. This provides powerful reassurance that irrespective of how large and powerful the Goliaths and strongholds that we face, God’s power to protect is always greater! Another key element is to reject any form of comparison with others regarding the size or nature of our problems. God does not use a comparative standard in terms of the objective size or strength of our enemies or judge us on a relative standard of strength and courage. He is equally pleased with the “timid and fearful” who learns to trust God and face their fears of a mouse as He is with the brave warrior who is facing lions. Never despise the day of small beginnings!
Principle 7): Godly discipline is always for our benefit. God uses trials to discipline us, and His discipline bears pleasant fruit when we humble ourselves and surrender our will. Every thought has the power of life and death, and Satan attempts to influence our thinking to plant seeds of doubt, unbelief and fear that impede God’s purpose. How do you hear the voice of Jesus? Even in those bible passages in which He voice anger and frustration, it was always done with a spirit of love as evidenced by His actions. He always forgave and moved on, He was patient with reoccurring failure, he never abandoned or rejected even when His beloved disciples fled, and He returned love and peace for failure and sin.
Principle 8): God’s strength is made perfect in my weakness: This is one of the most comforting but humbling lessons. Christians are victors and victorious, but this triumph is based upon a radically different definition of success and excellence than the secular world and culture utilizes. Victory and success in God’s eyes entails: 1) loving Him unconditionally, 2) obedience to His commands and will, 3) recognizing, confessing, repenting and renouncing our sins, 4) learning from our mistakes and failures, 5) learning to love, and 6) forgive and offer grace to others and ourselves. It is not an outcome based perspective. It is when we are weak and in a failed state that we most clearly recognize that our strength, victory and power comes from God. An attitude of humble strength acknowledges that all of our talents, gifts and abilities, all of our successes and accomplishments, our ability to focus, work hard and persist, all are gifts from God, hence we cannot boast. When we are successful, pride insidiously infects our ability to assign the appropriate locus of responsibility to God and redirects it to our character and “worthiness.” Failure is very effective at penetrating the defenses and placing us back on the correct path.
I pray that you will dedicate yourself being hearers and doers of the word, and that these principles will be a source of Godly blessing and encouragement.
Robertson School of Government
2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
As we reflect on the blessings of Thanksgiving, I urge you to meditate and be thankful for God’s attributes. One of the greatest gifts of God is the comfort He provides as we trek through the “worldly sorrow” emotions that burden our souls. When we are lost in the wilderness of pain, sorrow, self-pity, depression, and fear, His healing rain provides sweet relief. When we seek the Lord with an earnest desire, we find a gentle voice that eases the pain with His tender touch. Below are eight principles of divine comfort that are water on the lips of a man parched in the desert.
Principle 1): Eternal Love: God did, does and will always love you and I unconditionally. If you doubt this, remember that Jesus sacrificed the most for us when we were at our worst! He first loved us while we were sinners mired in our unsaved state of condemnation.
Principle 2): Unconditional Forgiveness: What a joy to realize that we are blessed with 360 degree eternal forgiveness! Jesus forgives all my sins, past present and future. The blood of Jesus protects and cleanses us and quiets the voices of fear, guilt, condemnation, shame, and doubt emanating from our flesh and the demonic realm. Jesus is tearing down the walls and identifying all the sources of unforgiveness. Take comfort, as Jesus is our advocate, lawyer, and redeemer!
Principle 3): Amazing Grace: Grace is God’s love in action. It involves all elements of the trinity, and is most fully developed in the New Testament redemptive covenant of complete forgiveness of sins. Remember that grace covers every failure, sin and weakness. Grace is the foundation for abundant living. Ponder the formula that ongoing weakness + God’s grace = Abundant Life. Embracing grace is one of the most powerful forms of belief and faith. It is a sin of pride to reject God’s grace. We must humbly accept this great gift and apply it liberally to our wounds, sins, temptations and weaknesses. The Holy Spirit is the comforter, teacher counselor, and provider of grace. God’s grace is always with us and we must build our homes upon its rock solid foundation. Grace softens and purifies the motives of our heart freeing us from the bondage of legalism and a spirit of works. When we desire to earn a reward from God, it is very easy for Satan to transform our motives into a “works spirit” that becomes a cruel taskmaster given the need to perform and accomplish instead of simply being in relationship. Grace meets us where we are at, and we do not need to be “cleaned up” as the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) clearly illustrates when the father runs towards the distantly viewed son and then joyously hugs and embraces his pathetically downtrodden and sin-stained child.
Principle 4): God is Patient: God is never frustrated or angered in human emotional terms. He is patient whether I obey or not, act or not, agree or not, and this takes away the burden of legalistically having to please God. We don’t have to change all at once, only God can provide instantaneous transformation, and in most cases it is contrary to His will to “zap” us given that we need gradual transformation to build character, faith, patience and empathy. These attributes are the foundation of a ministry of healing that God creates with our tears and scars. The comfort we are given, we give to others. Don’t despise the day of small beginnings and remember that the Lord will not let us be tempted and tested beyond our ability to bear.
Principle 5): God is Responsible for the Increase: God, not our efforts or talent, is responsible for the fruit, the healing and the change, both within us and with others. This reduces the pressure to “perform” and reinforces the power of Godly excellence which entails embracing obedience, humility and character growth. This assurance enables us to love others and ourselves in the appropriate fashion, with the combination of support/encouragement and necessary “tough love” accountability. We must always ask for the Lord’s power and guidance to base our motives on agape love which helps guard our heart from guilt, condemnation and manipulation.
Principle 6): God Will not Test Beyond Our Ability to Endure: Romans 8:28 clearly states that all things work out for the best for those who love God. This means that in all circumstances, the Lord will not test or tempt beyond our ability to bear the burden. This provides powerful reassurance that irrespective of how large and powerful the Goliaths and strongholds that we face, God’s power to protect is always greater! Another key element is to reject any form of comparison with others regarding the size or nature of our problems. God does not use a comparative standard in terms of the objective size or strength of our enemies or judge us on a relative standard of strength and courage. He is equally pleased with the “timid and fearful” who learns to trust God and face their fears of a mouse as He is with the brave warrior who is facing lions. Never despise the day of small beginnings!
Principle 7): Godly discipline is always for our benefit. God uses trials to discipline us, and His discipline bears pleasant fruit when we humble ourselves and surrender our will. Every thought has the power of life and death, and Satan attempts to influence our thinking to plant seeds of doubt, unbelief and fear that impede God’s purpose. How do you hear the voice of Jesus? Even in those bible passages in which He voice anger and frustration, it was always done with a spirit of love as evidenced by His actions. He always forgave and moved on, He was patient with reoccurring failure, he never abandoned or rejected even when His beloved disciples fled, and He returned love and peace for failure and sin.
Principle 8): God’s strength is made perfect in my weakness: This is one of the most comforting but humbling lessons. Christians are victors and victorious, but this triumph is based upon a radically different definition of success and excellence than the secular world and culture utilizes. Victory and success in God’s eyes entails: 1) loving Him unconditionally, 2) obedience to His commands and will, 3) recognizing, confessing, repenting and renouncing our sins, 4) learning from our mistakes and failures, 5) learning to love, and 6) forgive and offer grace to others and ourselves. It is not an outcome based perspective. It is when we are weak and in a failed state that we most clearly recognize that our strength, victory and power comes from God. An attitude of humble strength acknowledges that all of our talents, gifts and abilities, all of our successes and accomplishments, our ability to focus, work hard and persist, all are gifts from God, hence we cannot boast. When we are successful, pride insidiously infects our ability to assign the appropriate locus of responsibility to God and redirects it to our character and “worthiness.” Failure is very effective at penetrating the defenses and placing us back on the correct path.
I pray that you will dedicate yourself being hearers and doers of the word, and that these principles will be a source of Godly blessing and encouragement.
Monday, November 21, 2011
God-Honoring Boundaries
By Gary Roberts
Robertson School of Government
The battle over time is one of the great spiritual warfare struggles. Satan uses our addiction to activity and works to impede our relationship with God. Time can become an idol when our schedules become more important than obeying God. The underlying principle resides in one of the foundational commandments, though shall have no other Gods before me. God created human beings for an intimate personal relationship with God. He implanted eternity in our hearts. We are ceaselessly restless until we make the free-will choice to place God at the center of our universe. The reason is simple. Only God can complete us. To experience wholeness, we require purpose, meaning and transcendence of the self. Only God loves us unconditionally and forgives us unconditionally.
Human beings since the fall and the introduction of sin employ an almost infinite array of strategies and objects to experience meaning. All of these strategies become idols (activity, money, power, prestige, relationships) that temporarily satisfy but ultimately fail us. All of our idols become sources of fear and insecurity given their inability to provide humanity with the unconditional love that is essential for our security and growth. Why is this relevant? Even as Christians, we can lose sight of God. We spend so much time and effort working for God, we lose sight of the critical factor, to be in relationship with Him. Scripture likens our connection to God as being the branches of the vine, when we are cut off from the central vein, and we lose life-giving sustenance.
One of the things we teach in our public administration classes is the need to balance our lives between work, family and leisure. In reality, life is too complicated, there are too many variables, the system interconnections are impossibly complicated for rational calculation. When we attempt to balance on fully human terms, we budget time for discrete tasks making us more sensitive to disruptions impeding our ability to rest in and enjoy the present. The life of Christ demonstrated the importance of the well-ordered life (as John Ortberg stresses in the book the “The Life You’ve Always Wanted”), not the well balanced life. A well-ordered life places Jesus as the center, our most important daily objective is to maintain an ongoing relationship with God through spiritual disciplines such as prayer, bible reading, and most importantly, a conscious commitment to loving God with our entire being (heart, mind, and spirit) and our neighbors as ourselves.
Jesus set priorities, but they were the Father’s priorities. He also demonstrated the ability to improvise, to be sensitive to what we term the ministry of interruptions. The most important parts of our day are frequently unplanned and unanticipated, and we must make a conscious choice to act upon these opportunities. A rigid “checklist” approach to time management increases our resistance and stress to answering these calls. The other major element of the well-ordered life is that our lives are divided into seasons. There are times when our lives are unbalanced for God’s greater glory. Jesus and the apostles spent sleepless nights, suffered hunger and exposure to the elements, forsook material comforts, prayed all night, were persecuted and imprisoned, and exposed themselves to danger. They also recognized that there are times to rest and refresh. The Lord will in subtle ways communicate the absence of Godly order in our lives. God can run the universe without me as I am not its center! We must stop throwing ourselves off the “temple roof” and expecting the angels to save us, a reference to Luke 4:9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. 10For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" 12Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Many Christians become prideful, thinking God will protect them no matter how foolish their actions. God will always ultimately protect and save us, but our actions do have consequences. I pray that every human being experiences the reality of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Imagine the joy, peace, excitement when you realize that not only is God real, but that He wants to be involved in every area of your life. This knowledge provides incredible comfort, power, energy, passion, and purpose, but God’s wisdom must govern our efforts.
This zeal is a great benefit, but can develop into a weapon if we lose perspective and it is not directed by the Holy Spirit. Energy and passion channeled and focused in the right direction becomes a laser in the hands of God, but dissipates without the lens of Christ. Busyness overwhelms Christians as we are unable to separate God’s will (the best) from the many good things that can distract us. Seek Godly priorities and cease from your own labors. Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you and be that lamp unto your feet.
Robertson School of Government
The battle over time is one of the great spiritual warfare struggles. Satan uses our addiction to activity and works to impede our relationship with God. Time can become an idol when our schedules become more important than obeying God. The underlying principle resides in one of the foundational commandments, though shall have no other Gods before me. God created human beings for an intimate personal relationship with God. He implanted eternity in our hearts. We are ceaselessly restless until we make the free-will choice to place God at the center of our universe. The reason is simple. Only God can complete us. To experience wholeness, we require purpose, meaning and transcendence of the self. Only God loves us unconditionally and forgives us unconditionally.
Human beings since the fall and the introduction of sin employ an almost infinite array of strategies and objects to experience meaning. All of these strategies become idols (activity, money, power, prestige, relationships) that temporarily satisfy but ultimately fail us. All of our idols become sources of fear and insecurity given their inability to provide humanity with the unconditional love that is essential for our security and growth. Why is this relevant? Even as Christians, we can lose sight of God. We spend so much time and effort working for God, we lose sight of the critical factor, to be in relationship with Him. Scripture likens our connection to God as being the branches of the vine, when we are cut off from the central vein, and we lose life-giving sustenance.
One of the things we teach in our public administration classes is the need to balance our lives between work, family and leisure. In reality, life is too complicated, there are too many variables, the system interconnections are impossibly complicated for rational calculation. When we attempt to balance on fully human terms, we budget time for discrete tasks making us more sensitive to disruptions impeding our ability to rest in and enjoy the present. The life of Christ demonstrated the importance of the well-ordered life (as John Ortberg stresses in the book the “The Life You’ve Always Wanted”), not the well balanced life. A well-ordered life places Jesus as the center, our most important daily objective is to maintain an ongoing relationship with God through spiritual disciplines such as prayer, bible reading, and most importantly, a conscious commitment to loving God with our entire being (heart, mind, and spirit) and our neighbors as ourselves.
Jesus set priorities, but they were the Father’s priorities. He also demonstrated the ability to improvise, to be sensitive to what we term the ministry of interruptions. The most important parts of our day are frequently unplanned and unanticipated, and we must make a conscious choice to act upon these opportunities. A rigid “checklist” approach to time management increases our resistance and stress to answering these calls. The other major element of the well-ordered life is that our lives are divided into seasons. There are times when our lives are unbalanced for God’s greater glory. Jesus and the apostles spent sleepless nights, suffered hunger and exposure to the elements, forsook material comforts, prayed all night, were persecuted and imprisoned, and exposed themselves to danger. They also recognized that there are times to rest and refresh. The Lord will in subtle ways communicate the absence of Godly order in our lives. God can run the universe without me as I am not its center! We must stop throwing ourselves off the “temple roof” and expecting the angels to save us, a reference to Luke 4:9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. 10For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" 12Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Many Christians become prideful, thinking God will protect them no matter how foolish their actions. God will always ultimately protect and save us, but our actions do have consequences. I pray that every human being experiences the reality of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Imagine the joy, peace, excitement when you realize that not only is God real, but that He wants to be involved in every area of your life. This knowledge provides incredible comfort, power, energy, passion, and purpose, but God’s wisdom must govern our efforts.
This zeal is a great benefit, but can develop into a weapon if we lose perspective and it is not directed by the Holy Spirit. Energy and passion channeled and focused in the right direction becomes a laser in the hands of God, but dissipates without the lens of Christ. Busyness overwhelms Christians as we are unable to separate God’s will (the best) from the many good things that can distract us. Seek Godly priorities and cease from your own labors. Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you and be that lamp unto your feet.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Tempting Others to Sin
Dr. Gary Roberts
Robertson School of Government
Matthew 18:7
“What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.”
One of the most humbling aspects of leadership is to recognize that as shepherds of the flock, we possess a great responsibility to not discourage our employees and tempt them to sin. Many managers are oblivious to the fundamental Christian world view understanding of leadership that assigns great spiritual accountability for being the source of temptation. How do managers tempt employees? The answer to that question requires more than a dissertation solely devoted to the subject, but I will endeavor to introduce several fundamental principles. First, we tempt our employees to sin when we fail to provide the necessary encouragement and recognition. In essence, we “steal” the intrinsic heart rewards that are essential for stimulating ongoing motivation and the promotion of hope in difficult circumstances. Most employees report a drought of job-related feedback and are disheartened by the lack of acknowledgment. When we fail to recognize good performance, we are using dishonest scales and stealing from employees! We are called to encourage and support others with the comfort that we receive.
Second, we tempt our employees when we fail to provide the necessary discipline to correct poor performance and improver behavior. God disciplines those whom He loves, and undisciplined employees like uncorrected children will operate in a spiritual vacuum testing the boundaries until they are broken in spirit and body.
Third, we tempt employees to anger and bitterness when we develop in-group and out-groups in the workplace in which employees are treated unequally not based upon character and performance, but upon the manager’s arbitrary likes and dislikes. God call us to be no respecter of persons and treat all according to character and faith.
Fourth, we tempt employees to higher levels of distrust and cynicism when there is a gap between policy and practice. The absence of consistency between words and deeds shipwrecks the faith of many employees. If we promote empowerment in policy, but in practice only support employee decisions that validate or rubber stamp a preordained management decision, we promote organizational hypocrisy.
As Christian servant leaders, we must continually test both our motives and actions to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. If any of these temptations are present, we must repent and address the root cause issues to regain employee trust. It becomes a long road back, because it takes much more time and effort to regain trust once it is lost. Being a “hearer and a doer” is the path less well traveled, but well worth the cost given the bounty of trust produced from righteous treatment!
Robertson School of Government
Matthew 18:7
“What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.”
One of the most humbling aspects of leadership is to recognize that as shepherds of the flock, we possess a great responsibility to not discourage our employees and tempt them to sin. Many managers are oblivious to the fundamental Christian world view understanding of leadership that assigns great spiritual accountability for being the source of temptation. How do managers tempt employees? The answer to that question requires more than a dissertation solely devoted to the subject, but I will endeavor to introduce several fundamental principles. First, we tempt our employees to sin when we fail to provide the necessary encouragement and recognition. In essence, we “steal” the intrinsic heart rewards that are essential for stimulating ongoing motivation and the promotion of hope in difficult circumstances. Most employees report a drought of job-related feedback and are disheartened by the lack of acknowledgment. When we fail to recognize good performance, we are using dishonest scales and stealing from employees! We are called to encourage and support others with the comfort that we receive.
Second, we tempt our employees when we fail to provide the necessary discipline to correct poor performance and improver behavior. God disciplines those whom He loves, and undisciplined employees like uncorrected children will operate in a spiritual vacuum testing the boundaries until they are broken in spirit and body.
Third, we tempt employees to anger and bitterness when we develop in-group and out-groups in the workplace in which employees are treated unequally not based upon character and performance, but upon the manager’s arbitrary likes and dislikes. God call us to be no respecter of persons and treat all according to character and faith.
Fourth, we tempt employees to higher levels of distrust and cynicism when there is a gap between policy and practice. The absence of consistency between words and deeds shipwrecks the faith of many employees. If we promote empowerment in policy, but in practice only support employee decisions that validate or rubber stamp a preordained management decision, we promote organizational hypocrisy.
As Christian servant leaders, we must continually test both our motives and actions to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. If any of these temptations are present, we must repent and address the root cause issues to regain employee trust. It becomes a long road back, because it takes much more time and effort to regain trust once it is lost. Being a “hearer and a doer” is the path less well traveled, but well worth the cost given the bounty of trust produced from righteous treatment!
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