Are you able to honestly access your progress toward developing God-honoring character? (182-3)

God-honoring leadership demands that the leader have God-honoring character. Read Micah 2:1-13.

The leaders in Israel were very prosperous but were condemned by God because they were self-centered and self-serving. Day and night they considered how to get personal gain at the expense of those who could not defend themselves against their onslaught of legal maneuvers and fraudulent actions. They knew God’s commands concerning protecting the poor and oppressed but they determined it was not to their advantage to follow God-established principles in their leadership. Their defective character brought God’s judgment on the entire nation.

When the Greeks used the word character it had the same meaning as the word “image.” It had to do with the identification of an object or person. It was the scratching or writing or markings on a stone or a coin that made it distinct from other stones or coins. Character (image) was the distinctive mark from an outside force that helped identify an object or person. For the Christian leader the outside force that shapes their identity, their public image, their character, and makes them distinctive is the influence of the One True God.

A team is not long impressed by facades or some masquerade of God-honoring character. Time will demonstrate authenticity and a leader’s genuine other-centeredness. In my experience a leader is given about six months of grace by their team while they are evaluating the leader’s true character and values. After this honeymoon period, even if a leader should totally shift from self-centered leadership to other-centered leadership, it takes some time for a team to believe the changes are real and to trust the leader’s intentions.

The good news is that God-honoring character can be cultivated, and given time a team will see the change as real. When a leader determines to change their character it does not happen overnight; building character takes time and requires a teachable mindset. The development of God-honoring character requires the acquisition of wisdom and understanding. It is shaped by the intellectual comprehension of truth. It is forged by allowing Biblical truth to penetrate the human heart and change a leader’s core truths that control attitudes and actions. Character ultimately changes when a Christian leader develops an awe of God and allows that high view of God to become the outside force that shapes their identity.

Are you able to honestly access your progress toward developing God-honoring character? Have you substituted external self-discipline that allows you to mask internal character flaws? Do you have an accountability partner that will be truthful and point out your character flaws? Leaders are generally not a one (beginner) nor a ten (flawless) in their character and the wise leader understands that building and maintaining God-honoring character is a life-long process.