Stand Firm in Peace
Love-driven leaders are lovers of peace. The Bible tells us to be at peace with all people, as much as it depends on us (Rom. 12:18).
It’s not always easy to walk in peace when you work in a pressure cooker of deadlines—and we know the enemy wants to steal our peace at every turn. That’s why we must be intentional to put on our shoes of peace, one element of God’s armor listed in Ephesians 6.
We can choose to ask for God’s grace to walk in peace when deadlines are looming, when clients are cranky, when employees are out sick and leave a gap in the works, or when we are overstressed and overwhelmed by natural circumstances of life.
Once we’re walking in peace, we can seek to be peacemakers with others, resolving conflicts with those around us. There aren’t many leaders of organizations who haven’t experienced division in their midst.
I learned early in my career that division is a common strategy of the enemy. It seems to me that spiritual unity is rare.
Paul taught us to expect dividers and division. To keep division out of your midst and establish a culture of peace, remain focused on spiritual matters. Lead with your feet firmly planted in godly principles.
Self-preservation is one thing, but the health of the flock cannot be forgotten.
When we get caught up in “why are they doing this to me?” pity parties, it’s easy to lose focus on how the dissenters will affect the overall organization. Wolves will come. Some leaders simply deny the existence of wolves. They fail to see and understand the impact of cancer cells.
“Watch and pray” is a powerful admonition from the Lord. We can nip division in the bud and broker peace quickly if we discern the enemy’s work to rob us of peace at the onset.
During a season of division, the love-driven leader will remain focused on his own submission to the Lord. As love-inspired leaders our overarching goal is to achieve peace and unity.
