If it is to Lead, Do it Diligently

In Romans 12:6-8, Paul shared with us, "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement, if it is giving, then give generously; if it is lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy; do it cheerfully." 

For awhile now, I have prayed, pondered, and inquired among godly counsels in my life regarding the spiritual gift or gifts God has blessed me. I long and desire to know so that I can hone in on them to better serve the Lord who purposed me for His will. I understand that my professional background as a Director of Surgical Services equates to leading. However, this does not always mean that my spiritual gift is leadership. I do sense that leading is certainly on top of my spiritual gift and because of that, I commit to doing it diligently. 

What does diligent leadership look like? Why does it matter in my service to the Lord? What lasting impact can I make as a leader of healthcare professionals so that it can be carried on with them for a lifetime?

While I understand that the above list of gifts that Paul shared is limited as this certainly is not the complete list of spiritual gifts, I want to focus on the obvious in my life so that I can do my part as a follower of Jesus. Meanwhile, I can start to assess the spiritual gifts of those around me for the purpose of leaning on them where I am lacking so that the decisions I make in my life are well-rounded covering all of the bases of the truth. 

According to Chip Ingram, "the gift of leadership is the divine ability to notice what needs to be done, set goals to get it done, and then attract, motivate, and lead people who can accomplish the work of ministry." Ministry is not limited to the actual physical church. Ministry is in our every day work where we spend the majority of our time. For example, my ministry is at work and at home. I spend 5 days a week at a hospital somewhere whether that is in Stockton, Manteca, or Modesto. The latter part of my weekdays are spent at home with my husband and daughter. This is my other ministry. However, at work, my actual job is to lead people, nearly 400 employees in the Perioperative Services Department across the Central Valley.

I enjoy responsibility and stepping into gaps to help organize the disorganization of processes, practices, and workflows. Through all of that, I know that I have to love people through the process changes to see that outcomes and results are not only optimized, but also meaningful to the individuals and the team. I also enjoy seeing a need and would then envision a plan to meet the need. I must not lose sight of the spiritual purpose behind the projects that are executed. 

Another spiritual gift that I may have according to my best friend Linda (who went on to be with our Good Lord last year) and my Assistant Nurse Manager Nida, is prophecy. One Tuesday evening years ago, Linda shared with me that one of my spiritual gifts is prophecy. I laughed and responded, "Linda, I am no Isaiah and not even anywhere near it." Today, as I dove more into this spiritual gift of prophecy and how it could look in 2022, I can kind of understand where Linda was coming from and what Nida was trying to say. According to Chip Ingram, "the gift of prophecy is a divine ability to proclaim God's truth with power and clarity in a timely and culturally sensitive fashion for correction, repentance, or edification--"strengthening, encouraging and comfort" (1 Corinthians 14:3). Chip went on to say that people with the prophetic motivational gift: tend to be persuasive speakers, read people well, can come across as opinionated or insensitive, can depend on their speaking ability rather than on the power of the Holy Spirit if not careful. Whenever I am placed in a new position by God, I often ask, what went wrong here? I want to know in order to right the wrongs. Additionally, I desire to get to the heart of the real issues that need to be addressed and often gets overlooked. 

More on this another day...

But, as of today, Sunday, November 20th, I commit to leading my team diligently with the help of the Holy Spirit that lives in me. I am thankful to God for using me for His purpose and will. I commit to doing the good work daily to His glory.

Part 2: Antidote to Pride

 (This is a follow-up entry to my latest post, Setting Our Pride Aside) 

Personally, for me, the antidote to pride comes from dwelling on the message Paul shared in Colossians 3:12-17 which goes on to say:

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

In Colossians 3, Paul reminded his readers of their status as a people chosen by God (v. 12). Because we're chosen, we have certain obligations that are relational in nature. Since we have a reconciled relationship to God, to whom we were once enemies (1:21), we're to be in healthy relationship to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore, Paul instructed us to put on the virtues listed as we would put on literal garments (2:12-14). The characteristics he shared are critical to establishing and maintaining healthy relationships. Our restored relationship to God should lead us to extend compassion, kindness, and patience to our fellow believers. This, however, means that we'll necessarily need to "bear with each other" when conflicts and misunderstandings arise (v. 13). We can't put on these virtues without love, "which binds them all together in perfect unity" (v. 14). -Tim Gustafson

Part 1: Setting Our Pride Aside

Sin is sin—no matter how big or small. Sin can be as big as murdering somebody and taking their actual life away. Indeed, this type of sin is comparable to the indirect murdering of a brother or sister by having hatred for them. In a world full of differing opinions, a plethora of religious choices to choose from, especially for Americans where there is tremendous freedom, there is of course, great conflict and controversy. It may seem a bit overwhelming or conflicting to some, or should I say, to most, as we live in such a liberal nation. But, when we really think about conflict among human beings in general because of differing opinions and ways of living, let us not overlook the great conflict among believers of Jesus. Statistics say that 1 out of 4 Americans proclaim their religious choice as Christianity. However, I'm conflicted as to why we are not more peaceful as a nation. This does not come to me by surprise because we have been forewarned by prophets of the Bible from the Ancient of Days in the Old Testament to the New Testament as taught by some the most credible apostles of Jesus including Peter, Paul, Timothy, and so forth. We were reminded that there will certainly be conflict among brothers and sisters over many different reasons, not only with biological siblings but also those brothers and sisters of Christ.

It may seem like there is no hope. This is not true. There is hope for reconciliation for broken relationships. First and foremost, we must reconcile our once broken relationship with God in order to successfully resolve issues with one another. It is never too late for reconciliation no matter how broken the situation may seem or how long the conflict has been allowed to go on without resolution or whatever the next excuse may be. The greatest news is that God allows us the opportunity to reconcile our relationship with Him first before we can attempt to resolve any brokenness between each other. And, the next good news is that God equips us with how to handle conflict through His step-by-step instructions in His Word paying close attention to Romans chapters 14 and 15. Paul shows us how to resolve conflict in a godly, winsome, and loving way.

The biggest step to committing to resolve any conflict between individuals whether at work or at home or in the broader world is the power to put one’s pride aside. This concept goes to believers and non-believers alike. Here’s the thing—when we don’t do this, we are not going to learn anything from the process and really, we wouldn’t be here today talking about it. We can also choose to take the easy route by just ignoring that there is a problem in the first place and allowing the issue to eat us up inside. This may be due to the desire to keep the peace that never existed in the first place or that there may be a lack of courage. Additionally, the point is not to point fingers or determine who is at fault or who sinned greater. The greatest point is that there is an issue that needs to be resolved. That issue may stem from general misunderstandings, or that there was a lack of genuine love and concern for one another, or simply that there is no interest in building a real, genuine relationship between each other. That is all fine and everything but when there is hurt and injury involved, the issue must be addressed and tended to.

When we attentively listen by, first of all, humbling ourselves before that tough conversation and allowing for the other person to open up, we set our posture for impartiality allowing for authentic and meaningful conversation to take root. We’re giving the other person the benefit of the doubt along with giving ourselves the benefit of the doubt because there may be some points or aspects that we have missed, especially, with so much brokenness in the world. Thus, we wouldn’t know any better because some of us may have come from broken and dysfunctional homes growing up. So, the next best thing to do, in our minds, is to put our guard up and ‘protect’ ourselves from being hurt. This type of response is natural.

But, really, at the end of the day, the question is: what if the person meant it for good and not for bad. Just like what God reminded us in His Word through the life of Joseph as told in Genesis chapters 37 through 50. Towards the latter part of Joseph’s life, his response to his brothers who tried to kill him when he was a boy was, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20 NIV). Now let’s put this verse into context. As mentioned earlier, brothers and sisters quarrel, conflict comes up all the time (in one word: drama). Even from the beginning of time, we were given a classic example in the life of Joseph where he was supposed to have been murdered by his brothers but God saved him. Joseph’s loving and righteous response to his brothers, the same brothers who attempted to kill him years earlier, who later on had to put their pride aside, and are now begging the rich and powerful Joseph to feed them for they had been starving for months, is an example of how we ought to love and be as believers. Therefore, brothers and sisters, let us be reminded as Paul reminded us in Romans12:19: “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.”

Through these scriptures shared here along with Joseph's life as one prime example out of the Bible, I truly hope and pray that we examine our hearts by asking God to further search our hearts. Secondly, we must ask ourselves: who in our lives where conflict resolution needs to take place in a loving and winsome way through the help of the Holy Spirit?

Then, pray for the person, pray for the situation, ask God for wisdom on how to move forward and for to show you how to address the conflict. If possible, and if the other person is willing, meet in private, and have a heart-to-heart discussion before God, who is first of all filled with unfailing love, mercy, faithfulness, fairness and forgiveness.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.