We live in a very broken and sinful
world. There are countless examples of
depravity that pervade our lives. We
find it in politics where power and influence is the order of the day leading
to decisions that benefit the powerful at the expense of those who don’t have
the power. In the marketplace we are
overwhelmed with advertising that tells us we aren’t happy and our life is not
full because we don’t have what they offer.
Even in the world of sports we find allegations of cheating by doping
and trying to gain an unfair advantage.
Unfortunately this broken world is our home. It is the place we dwell and it is not only
impractical but often impossible to escape its influence.
Juxtaposed to that is our spiritual
life. We are called by Jesus to live
counter-culturally; the way Jesus lived his life. This means being a servant leader, laying our
life down for and sacrificing on behalf of others. I find that I am either not willing to do
that or just can’t do it. Understanding
my sin and coming to grips with being in a place where I have to make choices
is hard. I have often been put in a
place where I have to make choices that forced me to choose between two bad
options. I am going to hurt someone either way. I hate being in this place.
There are no good choices. The tension
that resides there is at times ‘gut- wrenching’ and ‘stress generating’. I am convicted by God’s word to live the
incarnate life of Jesus but working that out is not black and white but a vastness
of gray. Being the messenger of pain,
not doing what you CAN do to alleviate that pain, taking advantage of others
for your own benefit are some of the challenges of being a leader
Helping others navigate this
minefield is one of the challenges that God has set before me in this new
ministry. So many business people I know
are unprepared for these challenges.
They prefer to leave their spirituality at church on Sundays and then
live their business life without reference to their faith. It just seems easier not to ‘go there’. The
problem is that Jesus asks us to ‘go there’.
That is what I intend to explore in the months and years to come.
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