Thursday; April 25

How do we assess the value of our leaders? For some of us, it might be what they do for us … for others of us it might be how well they leave us alone to do what we want to do with our lives. Some assess leadership by how much they get done while others value how they make us feel. I guess there are a variety of answers to that original question depending up what we hope to get out of life.

Interestingly, when Jesus considered this question, His answer was pretty straight-forward … leaders (like anyone) do good things. And how do we know if they are doing good things? The answer is found in what they are producing. Jesus mixed a couple of metaphors in the Sermon on the Mount when He observed, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.” (Matthew 7:15-17). One of my favorite farmer quotes is that you can put lipstick on a pig, but you still have a pig! We can dress up wrong all we want, but the true measure isn’t how it looks but how it acts.

Each day we are being asked to assess people – especially those we choose to lead us. How are we evaluating them? If we are looking for an accurate measure, let’s consider their track record and the number train wrecks in their past.

Think About It!

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