We all exercise leadership roles, be it in home, church or society. All of us also have the potential to become good leaders. Although we are limited by our nature and nurture, it need not be so. Take the example of Paul. He once rejoiced in persecuting Christians. However, his encounter with Christ transformed him. The record of Paul’s journey from hatred to love is witness to the fact Christ transforms.
God called and gifted Paul, and God has does the same for us. We flourish when we lead with our gifting and calling. We improve over time in our leadership roles as we submit to the discipline of learning.
When King Saul offered David impressive armour to fight Goliath, David politely declined. He performed to his strength. He stuck with his slingshot. He must have spent a lot of time developing his technique. To be sure, David was not a good slingshot player from birth. And so it can be with us in our leadership role which God gifts to us. Instead of wasting time longing for different armour, we ought to concentrate on the gift God has given us and hone and improve those gifts.
Paul encouraged Timothy to hone the gift God had given him. We should never stop learning how to use our gifts more effectively. Do we get nervous at the first sign of stagnation of our gift?
The leadership gift of John unfolded as he grew. The anguish of friends of John who suffered racial and gender discrimination made him long for equality. And his shaky but durable belief that ultimate peace could be found only in Jesus Christ made him long for “thy kingdom come.” John saw leadership emerge from streets, campuses and churches. We also need role models to learn from. Who is your role model? The best role model is Jesus Christ. His grace is available to go beyond the conditioning of nature and nurture.