As one who leads - or desires to lead the critical thing is to examine your heart.
Jesus tells us:
For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
(Mar 7:21-23)
Pretty tough stuff.
Two things any leadersheep should pray and follow through on:
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psa 139:23-24)
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. (Psa 19:14)
We need God to show us our hearts and whatever wickedness yet resides there. We need Him to shine His light in all the cracks and crevices so we may find and sweep out the smallest dusty-bunny of sin. We need to seek His Spirit's help in discerning our weaknesses and needs and the same for the remedy.
We, as believers, have His Spirit and His Spirit produces fruit. We all know the old passage:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23)
Here is a criteria by which we and the Spirit can effectively examine our hearts. This fruit ( and "fruit" in this passage is in the singular - it's all one) is not just the demonstration to us that we are in Him. Rather it is the characteristic that should be evidence of His presence to us and all those we serve and care for - or, actually just come into contact with.
I began my "official:" career as a consultant working with a process that sought to develop "whole hearted leadership." It was (and is) a great process! There is just one problem - that is the nature of that heart one is leading from.
As leaders we don't just need a 360 degree assessment - we need a 720. We don't just need the feed-back of those around us but we need the feed-back of He who indwells us. We are sinful and flawed and weak - so what kind of assessment can we really give (or get). It is His loving and true assessment we need so that we may know our hearts.
Of course - we do have such an assessment:
The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Gen 6:5)
That's where we start. Our hearts we birthed, weened and raise that way. In Him we are made new - but it's a new we are utterly unfamiliar with - so, having been birthed in Him we must be weened and raised in Him as well. Unfortunately pride all too often prevents us from accepting our need for the pure milk of the word - we're big people - we need meat. And yet we have no spiritual teach with which to chew and so not only do we gag on the meat we gain little nutrition from it.
For any of you who seriously desire to examine your hearts I suggest you get a copy of:
Keeping the Heart by John Flavel. Flavel was a 17th century Puritan and his works are magnificent. Keep in mind the times and circumstances in which he wrote - they were unsettled and tough. But if you will work through this book with your Bible alongside I know you will be challenged and blessed.
