Eagles' Wings Ministries International
Leadership is key to making
things happen on an individual, family, community and national level. Warren
Bennis said, “Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision
that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues and taking effective
action to realise your own leadership potential.” Each one of us is a leader in
our sphere of influence. This is because leadership is a process by which we
positively influence others to become better citizens. Real leaders bring the
best out of other people. The essence of leadership is the ability to build
effective relationships. Effective relationships are built on the foundation of
love, respect, trust, understanding and communication. Phil Pringle said, “The
essence of any great relationship is love.” Therefore leaders must genuinely
love people. The secret of great leaders is not found only in their ability to
lead, organize or manage, but in their love for people. The secret of effective
living at any level is love. Actually most people’s greatest sense of need is
not just money or health, but communication and loving relationships. They want to feel love from their leaders, employers,
pastors etc. We all long for good loving relationships with others, whether it
is with our children, colleagues, husbands and wives. “Supportive, intimate
connections with other people seem tremendously important”, says psychologist
David Myers.
Making connections or loving
people does not usually come easily, especially for some of us who have task
oriented – personalities. We must work at it because love is usually a decision
of commitment more than just a spontaneous feeling. Loving people means
treating them right. Loving certain people may require an effort on our part;
making sacrifices for their well-being and helping them achieve their goals in
life.
If we fail to possess genuine
love for people, no matter how skilled we might be in issues of leadership, we
will sound like a clanging cymbal in their ears. “Living successfully with
other people always begins and ends with love,” says Phil Pringle. We are all
created with the capacity to love. Love should be the motivating factor in
everything we do or say. The great apostle Paul said, “If I speak in tongues of man and angels, but have not love, I am only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can
fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move
mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor
and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love I gain nothing.” (1 Cor
13:1-3).
Actually without love the
most magnificent manifestation of gifts and the most heroic self-sacrifice
amount to nothing. The love of people should be our great motivator. Love is
the defining characteristic of a great family, community or nation. When we
cultivate an atmosphere of love in our homes and at our work places, the
results will be high performance for the children at school and employees at
their work places. A place where accusations, gossip, back biting, negative
criticism, judgementalism, faultfinding, resentment, retaliation and
unforgiveness are the order of the day will always undermine the potential of
people.
Paul’s magnificent hymn of
love in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 is uniquely amazing and challenging at the same
time. He says, “Love is patient, love
is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude,
it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always
protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…”
Love conquers all. Love
always puts others first. When we walk in love we will always find value in
people and in what they do for a living, whether they are rich or poor. As we
show love to people and what they do, we add value to their lives. When we walk
in love, we make everyone we meet in life feel significant. As we walk in love
we will refuse to speak evil or gossip about others. Charles Spurgeon said,
“Suspect those who will lead you to suspect others.” Genuine love is not
suspicious.
Love helps us walk in the
boundaries where we can still receive correction when we miss it. Walking in
love helps us to unpack our emotional baggages and forgive those who have
offended us. To forgive is a choice we make in obedience to God’s word. The
healing of the pain inside is a process. Just because we still feel the pain
inside, does not necessarily mean that we didn’t forgive. Allow the love of God
to become the medicine that heals the pain inside. Love helps us survive
terrible negative experiences of life, rape, abuse, accusations etc. because
love conquers all. Let love come alive in our homes, communities, work places
and in our individual lives. Genuine quality love is the basis of all
relationships and what makes the miracle of national unity possible.
