We probably all know someone that dresses in a way to stand out from the crowd. Whether it is a wacky looking tie or a dress that is so bright it looks like it runs on batteries, we have all seen examples of people wearing clothes that stand out. Why do you think they do this? What is their purpose?
I have been studying a little in Matthew 5-7. If you are familiar with this passage, you know that this is also known as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. This “sermon” from Jesus is so full of meat, you could write a whole book on what we should learn from it. Today, I want to focus on a couple of verses that teach us to stand out from the crowd.
I believe it is critical for Christian business owners and leaders to live out their leadership differently than those who do not claim the Christian faith. We are called to die to self and should, therefore, look different than the rest. One way we do this is to focus on others – our employees or team members – and their needs before our own.
I received a critical, but motivating comment on a recent post I shared on LinkedIn. The comment basically stated that my post “Have You Attended Your Own Funeral?” had been long on theory and short on concrete examples. Instead of discussing the idea of dying to self in the business world, I was asked to give examples of what it would look like from the outside. I think the commenter was right on target!
Most likely, you have not spent much time thinking about where an ambassador works when they are on the job. Unless you have read my last two posts, you may not have thought much at all about ambassadors. Either way, I want to encourage you to think about them today – and how their work impacts you as an ambassador for Christ!
In my last post, we started digging into 2 Corinthians 5:20 and figuring out what it means to us. We started by breaking out the various components of the definition of an “ambassador,” applying each component to our own situations. You really need to read that last post [HERE] to get the full effect. Today, I want to cover the remaining points that I believe are most critical in this verse.
Sometimes a single verse from the Bible can teach us much that we need to know about being the Christian business owners and leaders that God has called us to be. While that may be too large a task for one verse, I think I have at least one that comes close. Let’s start by taking a look at the following verse about being an ambassador for Christ:
During any given day in the course of business, we may face dozens of decisions. Some are easy and others are more difficult. While many of the decisions that we face might be categorized as multiple choice, I think the more difficult ones are those that fall under the True/False or Yes/No category. If you are not careful with these decisions, you can get into trouble. How are we supposed to make these decisions?
As Christian leaders, I think it is fairly obvious that we should always be learning and growing. This includes getting stronger in our knowledge of God and growing in our relationship with Him. It also means we should be gaining knowledge in our industries as well as in the area of leadership. In light of this, I have a question…is it possible to get too smart?
This is my third post in a series about a God-honoring decision making process. As Christian business owners and leaders, it is our desire to impact eternity with our business and personal lives. In trying to do this, we are faced with many decisions. Determining the path that has the greatest impact and honors God is often difficult.