By Allen White
You will say, “How I
hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors. And I was soon in serious trouble in the
assembly of God’s people.
Proverbs 5:12-14
“Leaders are learners.” I think I first heard those words
from John Maxwell, but have certainly heard similar statements from Rick Warren
and many others. Most leaders start out with a heart and attitude wide open to
course corrections and new ideas. But, over time, this changes.
Leaders sometimes are deceived by success, even God-given
success. They listen to God. They use their God-given gifts. Then, they receive
a measure of success. While they assent to humility, the voice of pride
convinces them they are smarter than they really are. After all, they must have
a lot of things figured out. They have great success.
Once a leader stops learning by seeking out others, reading
great books, or even being educated in the school of hard knocks, success
begins to retreat. What once seemed like such a sure thing isn’t so sure.
In every sector, in every field of endeavor, these
principles are true. Not one of us enjoys correction. But without correction we
are sentenced to a reality where what we possess now is as good as it gets. If
we’re honest, we must admit, we are not as good as what we think we are.
Rather than being enamored by our own greatest, we must
humbly admit, “Without Him we can do nothing” (John
15:5). When we’re received a portion of the things “beyond all we could ask
or imagine” (Ephesians
3:20-21), we need to seek God and ask Him for what’s next. There is no
place in this life to rest on our laurels. Our reward is on the other side.
When you look at your life, what’s next? Where do you need
to grow? What has started to stall out? What has started to decline? Failure is
not your enemy. You can learn from your failures. Success is far more
dangerous.
When are you tempted to think you bring more to the table
than you really do? When was the last time you stopped to thank God for what He
has blessed you with?
When was the last time you learned a hard lesson? If it’s
been a while, are you open to learn more? When was the last time you sat down
with a peer or a colleague to evaluate your performance or your plan? Are you
wisely consulting others or are you foolishly thinking you’ve got it all
together?
More from Allen
White: allenwhite.org
Facebook: Galatians419 Group
Twitter: @galatians419 @allenwhite
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