Peggy Noonan, in a Wall Street Journal Opinion piece, The Captain and the King, (referring to Navy Captain Capt. Owen Honors and the duke of York, who in the 1930’s found England’s Throne thrust upon him), contrasted their leadership. What struck me was her thought that:
“…it's a great mistake when you are in a leadership position to want to be like everyone else. Because that, actually, is not your job. Your job is to be better, to set standards that those below you have to reach to meet. And you have to do this even when it's hard, even when you know you yourself don't quite meet the standards you represent.”
“God-fearing” used to be a standard to which leaders would aspire. What characterized these people was that their tongues and their hearts [minds] were in sync. Our generation has produced too many in leadership who are out-of-sync: why? Perhaps we have failed to practice “ruthless honesty” [A.W.Tozar] with our own spirits. We have lived autonomously and not with accountability. We build the body. Train the mind. Treat the spirit as some soft, fluffy thing not a part of us that must be congruent with what we think, what we do in private and how we behave around those watching.
The “humility and resoluteness of will” that Jim Collins writes about [Good to Great] is a product of refinement. The dross of a natural inclination to be different in private than in public - is burned off in the fires of accountability, honesty and humility. Personal commitment to refinement provides nourishment to those following. This leader shines! The silver glows when it has come through the fire of discipline, discipleship and the polish of a consistent dedication to be not only attractive but also cleaned and ready to be used.
The glitter of this generation is captured in “bling.” How very sad. The glitter of a Godly people is found in the analogy of silver-service – attractive to the eyes, but serving the purpose as a tool of nourishment.
Are you silver-service or bling?
Copyright ©2011 by P. Griffith Lindell
2 comments:
Hi. I just wanted to stop by and leave a comment - to encourage you as I have been encouraged by tour writings.
I especially appreciated this post on leadership. Leadership does in fact require that we hold up a standard, whether that be in the family, in business, or in the church.
It *is* hard and it *should* be hard, because as Christians the standard is well beyond that which we are easily capable of satisfying.
And when we fail? Then it's another chance to show leadership by example as we admit our shortcoming and re-set our sites on Christ - our standard.
Thank you for your dedication to this blog. I find it very meaningful, and I'm certain many others do as well.
Best wishes, Steve
Griff - Now I never thought of myself as silverware. If I did I would prefer to be stainless steel. It is much more practical for me.
However, whether steel or silver, I hope I never become in private something that is not what others see in me in public. What a great dishonesty that would be.
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