Christian Leadership Foundations 2 - LoveSample

LOVE VERSUS GIFTING

Leadership Devotion

Paul has just covered the importance of every spiritual gift in the body of Christ. From 1 Cor. 12, you get the idea that gifts are really important. And they are. We desperately need the gifts of everyone in the church. Paul goes on to contrast superb gifts with real love, just in case his readers get an overinflated view of the value of their gifts,

It turns out that gifts come a very, very poor second to love. I am blown away by how important love is, according to Paul. Paul was an achiever who was extraordinarily gifted and successful. He had high expectations of the leaders around him. Here, he says that great gifts, incredible knowledge, tremendous faith, and staggering sacrifices mean nothing if not saturated in love. Wow, that’s confronting. Listen carefully to what God is saying to you from this Scripture, “Everything you do is a complete waste of time if it’s not driven by love.”

That makes us think about our motives and the way we lead. It is so easy for us to believe our abilities and achievements count. Nope. That’s not the way God sees things. It’s our love for others that brings blessing to God. It’s our love for others that makes our gifts, contributions, and sacrifices significant in God’s kingdom.

It’s good that Paul doesn’t leave us hanging but goes on to explain what this God-pleasing love looks like. It’s not about magnificent, costly sacrifices for others, although these may be included. It’s more about treating others with respect, listening to them, not being rude or getting angry, trusting and protecting, valuing justice and truth, and doing good.

I know many Christian leaders who love like this. Some have tremendous influence and incredible achievements and have stayed humble servants. Like Paul, they have great reputations. Others you would never have heard of have also loved the people God has called them to lead. There is little difference between these groups of leaders as far as God is concerned. Sure, one group is more gifted, but it’s love that matters.

To Contemplate

Do you feel more or less confident about your leadership after reading this?

Leadership Reflection

How can we love those we lead?

We saw in the Bible reading that love is down-to-earth and practical. Love for those you serve/lead often shows in the following ways:

1. You are interested in and want to know about their personal lives. You want to understand how they are doing and what they are facing. You are interested in their circumstances, family, pressures outside your relationship, and the fun they find in life. You want to know what motivates them and what disappoints them.

2. You are concerned for their total well-being: their physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual health. You want them to flourish in life, and you know that they need to be healthy in each of these areas. You pray and work for their health and blessing.

3. You offer sacrificial service that comes at a cost to you. You sacrifice your agenda and desires so you can serve their needs. Of course, it is not possible to do this on every occasion. You have many priorities and demands in your life, but you willingly make the sacrifices when the opportunity arises.

4. You give attention to their opinions, ideas, and concerns. You genuinely want to know what they think and how they feel. While you cannot always do what they want, it is not from a lack of understanding of what they are thinking and what they are looking for.

5. You recognize their contribution and encourage them for the good things you see coming out of their life and ministry. You are quick to find something you can cheer about, and you try to remain as positive as you can about them and their potential.

6. You have a passion for and commitment to their growth and development. You dream of what they could be (often when they cannot see it themselves), and you invest in helping them become all God intends. This involves providing wisdom and direction, opening opportunities to help them develop, and networking them with people and resources who can help.

7. You are honest with them and challenge them to grow. You do not shy away from tackling tough issues. You care enough to confront the problems and barriers to growth in their life and ministry. You are gentle but firm. You know some of their most significant growth will come through owning up to and dealing with failures and weaknesses.

I know this might scare you off. This love thing sounds like a lot of effort, and in a way, it is. That is why we probably do not see more love in leadership. None of us have got loving others entirely right. We are all on a journey, but love is fundamental. As a leader, it is essential to grasp and practice love.

Remember, love will not primarily grow by our trying harder. We need to make an effort, but our love for others will primarily develop as we recognize and experience how deeply God loves us. If we doubt God’s love or drawback from his love, then genuinely loving and serving those we influence will be virtually impossible. As we seek to build the foundation of love into our leadership, our prayer should be, “Lord Jesus, may I grasp how wide and long and high and deep is your love, and may I experience this love” (Eph. 3:17-19).