Honest to God

This past weekend, during an important seminar, I noticed how many times I wanted to look good, feel good, be right, or be in control during my external conversations with others and the internal conversations with myself. It reminds me how the noted psychiatrist, Dr. William Glasser, described the lack of insight concerning our human condition. He said that there were only two kinds of people in this world: those that have an inflated view of themselves; and those who are totally delusional! Transformation is difficult work for anyone and it never can be done without complete honesty about ourselves. It is hard work because we are more invested in short term gain even if it means long term pain. We see it with corporate leaders interested in quarterly earnings more than the long term health of an organization. We see it in churches producing a consumer type of Christianity not doing the hard work of genuine discipleship. I want to stop, but how? Here is one suggestion for those who truly desire to be a servant leader?
1. The Biblical teaching about "Reaping and Sowing" is a universal truth that everyone must understand and apply to have a successful life (Job 4:8; 2 Cor. 9:6; Gal. 6:7). If you would use corporate language, you would call this the "Contribution and Results" law of life. Everything (yes, everything) you think, feel, and do determines your future. It means that your internal conversations drive your beliefs, provokes your feelings, and orchestrates your behavior. In other words, we do nothing by accident. Or put it another way, everything we do has an intent by it even if we are not consciously aware of it. God created us in his image. That image means "choice." But so many of us live lying to ourselves, trying to feel good, look good, being in control, or being right that we cannot be open to the truth. Yet, Jesus said, "The truth will set us free." So we live imprisoned, many in despair, and others simply willing to settle. Living safe simply means surviving, not thriving. And God wants us to live fully! Over the next several blogs, I will share some of the things I learned about myself during the Conference on Christian Character Development.