Leadership Advice
When things are turning sour we are quick to point the finger and find someone else to blame.
Job 1:1-22
Reference: v.16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" (NIV Bible)
Explore: 'When everything is going well, look out the window. When everything is going poorly, look in the mirror.' This is an insight for leadership that I have been taught over the last year. It means that when everything is going well in your business/church/family then you should look at the people who are around you, appreciate them and acknowledge the contribution they have made to the success. However, when things are going poorly in your life you should look directly at yourself and discern with wisdom what part you had to play in the failures. So often when things are going well it's easy to feel good about ourselves and look in the mirror to find the champion. On the other hand, when things are turning sour we are quick to point the finger and find someone else to blame.
Application: It's interesting that in today's Bible passage, huge disaster falls on Job. In six verses we see all of Job's wealth, livelihood and family totally destroyed. And do you notice whom the servant blames? He says that 'the fire of God fell…' We read at the start of the passage that God did not send destruction to Job, but when disaster hits God often gets the blame. And yet, more times than not we should be looking in the mirror to find the source of the problem. There are things in life that happen to us and are beyond our control, however we all have the power to choose how we will respond. Will we spend all our time looking for others to blame? Or will we look in the mirror and discern how we are going to respond?
Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we point the finger at other people and when we turn our hurt and hatred onto You. May we look to You for wisdom and discernment as we make decisions in our lives. Amen.
Do you need to be looking out the window or in the mirror?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.