1 Pet. 5:1-3
"To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness
of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of
God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must,
but because you are willing,
as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;
not lording it over those
entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock."
What
do Leaders Sacrifice?
1.
Leaders sacrifice their time:
Managing
people takes time, lots of time. Team members look to their leaders to provide
direction and support in all sorts of situations. Leaders find themselves being
teachers, counselors, pastors, coaches, parents, cheerleaders, and many other
roles in response to the needs of their people. One of the primary ways leaders
build trust is by investing time in the personal relationships with their
followers. Nothing communicates care and support to a team member more than a
leader giving of his/her time. Making time for your people shows you view them
as important, worthy of your attention, and that you truly care about them as
individuals.
2.
Leaders sacrifice the spotlight:
Leaders with
big egos dominate the spotlight and take credit for their teams’ success. Their
philosophy is if something good happens, it’s because of the leader, and if
something bad happens, the team screwed up and deserves the blame. Conversely,
good leaders shine the spotlight on their team when they experience success,
while personally taking the blame when the team fails. It requires emotional
maturity for the leader to step into the background and let a team member get
the praise and recognition for a job well-done, but it’s the right thing to do.
This kind of leadership behavior causes members to pledge their loyalty, trust,
and commitment because they know their efforts will be recognized and rewarded.
3.
Leaders sacrifice self-interest:
True
leadership is other-focused. It’s about investing in other people to help them
succeed, even if it’s at the expense of the leader’s own self-interest. Leaders
put the needs of their people ahead of their own and sometimes that means team
members grow, become accomplished, and even move on to other roles,
departments, or organizations. Self-centered leaders are into control and power
and will resort to unsavory behaviors in the interest of self-preservation.
Great leaders, on the other hand, understand the reciprocity factor. They know
the more they give away power and control and promote the interests of
their people, the more success and goodwill returns their way.
WHEN LEADERS
SACRIFICE:
1. Sacrifice made by leaders is
the key to leadership Success:
Leaders must be willing to sacrifice their
pleasures and fulfillments for those they serve. Like Nehemiah, we must be
willing to give up one lifestyle for the life of a servant leader.
2. Sacrifice is the yardstick
that measures our character and our values:
Sacrifice is the heart of a true shepherd
(True leader). Shepherds look out for their sheep. They don’t expose each
other’s flaws. They protect the sheep and keep them from falling. Be diligent
to keep your leadership team and those you lead protected.
3. Sacrifice shows we are loyal:
Loyal leaders are willing to lay down their
lives for God, His purposes, and His people with a loyal heart. Loyalty is
built and gained – it is not automatic. And loyalty is built over long periods
of time, of making the right choices consistently and relating to your team in
a genuine way without manipulation. Manipulation does not fit with respect and
loyalty. If you win people with deception, your disloyalty will cause your
destruction. Be loyal to God and to His people.
4. Sacrifice is willingness to
do whatever it takes to accomplish the vision for the greater cause:
Asking people to trim their lifestyle and
endure hardships for the sake of a better future is never easy. You must
believe that the church and the Kingdom of God is a cause worthy of the very
best – the best people, the best effort, the best of everything. The church is
Christ’s precious bride. We as leaders must be willing to make whatever
sacrifice is asked to advance Kingdom vision.
5. Sacrifice in leaders is what
makes the vision impossibility become possible:
Nothing
great ever happened without sacrifice. Sacrifice opens opportunities to do more
than you that was possible. What can you sacrifice today that will make room
for the grand vision?
The Underlining Principles of
Sacrifice
1.
Some sacrifice is no sacrifice:
In Malachi's day, the Jews thought that they were giving God every
sacrifice the law required. But in disregard of the law, they brought polluted
bread and inferior animals—animals that
were not strong and unblemished, but lame and sickly. God was angry with the
Jews. He said that He rejected their offerings as well as those who gave
them.
Mal. 1:7-10 "Ye offer polluted bread upon mine
altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of
the Lord is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the
lame and sick, is it not evil?
offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy
person? saith the Lord of hosts. And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will
be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons?
saith the Lord of hosts. Who is there
even among you that would shut the doors for
nought? neither do ye kindle fire
on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts,
neither will I accept an offering at your hand."
2.
God wants only one thing, and
that is everything:
What is lacking in these feeble attempts at sacrifice? They give
God less than the best. God wants our best—and our worst. Indeed, God wants
only one thing, and that is everything.
God does not want the pennies or Naira's or hundreds of Naira's
that you put into the offering plate. He wants your whole bank account. He does
not want your Sunday, even your Sunday and your Wednesday night. He wants your
whole week.
Jesus articulated this principle when He said in Luke 14:26 "If
any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and
children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be
my disciple". Jesus was not talking about a requirement for salvation.
Rather, He was talking about a requirement that God will put upon you in the
course of Leadership.
3.
There is no such thing as
sacrifice:
Why not? For two reasons.
Ø
You have
nothing to give up
Ps. 50:8-12 "I will not reprove thee for thy
sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to
have been continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy
house, nor he goats out of thy
folds. For every beast of the forest is
mine, and the cattle upon a
thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of
the field are mine. If I were
hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof."
Ø
Every
worldly possession or privilege you give up for God is garbage anyway:
Phil. 3:8 "What is more, I
consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage,
that I may gain Christ"
You lose nothing of real value.
4.
It is not possible to avoid sacrifice:
Whatever you refuse to sacrifice, you will lose anyway. If you
choose anything in place of sacrifice, you will find the results disappointing.
Either you will not enjoy it, or you will not keep it.
5.
Sacrifice is the key to blessing:
Scripture teaches that if we give priority to seeking the Kingdom
of God, we will attain it and receive "all these things".
Matt. 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
By searching the context, we discover that "all
these things" refers to food and raiment and the other material
necessities of life.
Matt. 6:31,32 "Therefore take no thought, saying,
What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be
clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly
Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things."
In the spiritual realm, as in every other, you
cannot get something for nothing. The more you would gain of eternal rewards,
the greater the sacrifice required of you. If you want a great ministry for God,
it will cost you something, perhaps affliction, persecution, loss of worldly
comforts and pleasures, separation from family, contempt, loneliness, anguish
of mind, or betrayal. Men may tell lies about you. They may try to harm you or
destroy you. You will take up a cross and be identified with the man of
sorrows. If you study the life of any great Christian in the past, you will
find that he paid a price