From today’s reading...
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.”
For at least 2,000 years right up to today, so-called leaders have operated by the motto of “do what I say, not what I do.”
Great leaders understand the need to lead from the front, to set the pace, to walk the walk.
A lifetime of service and good works can come to a screeching halt with one (exposed) screw up. Just ask Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, John Edwards, and Jimmy Swaggart.
With 24/7 news cycles and hackers and smart phones (and dumb owners) and a populace that craves entertainment and scandal and chaos, people are looking to rip leaders down from the pedestals...so don’t give them what they want.
Instead, give them what they need. Real leadership.
Maybe that means saying what needs to be said, when it needs to be said, to those who need to hear it, even if it makes you unpopular...for a season.
At the end of the day, people know the truth when they hear it.
They also know the truth when they see it.
And if you show it to them long enough, on this long and winding journey of life, they can’t help but see it...eventually.
Stay the course.
Keep the faith.
Endure.