Changelicious (Part Two)

· Godly leaders are not people pleasers. Galatians 1:10 is very clear about the exclusive nature of two goals. Pleasing people and serving Christ are mutually exclusive. You can not do both. You must choose which one you will do. Leaders must choose to serve Christ over pleasing people. This is much easier said than done. Often those you choose not to please for the sake of serving Christ will take it personal. Lead them personally as best you can. Love them, but do not compromise what God has told you to do to please them. The people you lead need a leader not a people pleaser – whether they realize it or not. This is often offensive to those you lead because they truly want to please Christ, too. The difference is not always about heart, it is about role and responsibility. So do not wear you non-people pleasing call as a badge of honor. Wear it as a humble mark of a humble leader. The goal of great leadership is not to displease people, it is to serve Christ. Leaders can often take great pride in the displeasure of people. That is not leadership; that is selfishness. What you have to say as a leader is often offensive (or at best hard to hear), but you don’t have to be offensive. Allow people to be displeased by your serving of Christ, but don’t make your goal in serving Christ the displeasure of people.

So in the end leading is difficult. Leading will often cause people to have a bad taste in their mouth and they will see that bad taste as you. Those who are with you will stick around long enough to acquire the taste. Many of them will learn that they love it. Others will leave and find a new flavor. Often they will stay there until there is a bad taste again and they will quickly move on to find another flavor.

The problem about leadership is that is most often it is not delicious it is changelicious. It has a bitter taste but it will grow on those you lead. Your goal is to make sure that you are flavored with Christ and not with self. The taste of a prideful leader will not just leave people with a bad taste in their mouth, it will leave people sick with leadership poisoning. We must remember that we are the “salt of the earth.” Leaders, we can not lose our saltiness or we will be useless and left to be trampled under the foot of men. If you want to be changelicious then make sure the flavor in you is not you.