faith

Higher Education

Faith Centered Leadership: Wise Leaders… Foolish Leaders

May 13, 2020 Comments Off on Faith Centered Leadership: Wise Leaders… Foolish Leaders

Have you ever wished that you could give a colleague some wise feedback that would help him or her in their career, a project, or some aspect of their responsibilities? But you couldn’t because you recognized that they weren’t receptive to it, or they would have difficulty understanding it. You recognized that their perception or beliefs about what they were doing were so strong or deeply rooted, that it would be difficult for them to see any other point of view. You may have even recognized that this could develop into a serious professional derailer for the person. Maybe you carefully planned a moment in time to have the conversation, only for the person to rebuff your remarks and try to make YOU think that you were foolish.
As much as you wanted to help the other person, to help them see the folly of their ways, you knew that you had to wait until they WANTED to listen to you. You had to wait until they fell and got bruised and tried to figure out what happened and why… then maybe, just maybe you’ll be able to help them recognize how their own behavior or decisions contributed to their situation.
Realistically, none of us are completely wise or completely foolish. There are simply areas in our lives where we exhibit more or less wisdom (sometime a lot more or a lot less). The goal is to increase the areas where wisdom shines through; to seek the counsel of other people who are wise; to be able to recognize the difference between wise and foolish behavior.
This is even more important for leaders, because their wise or foolish decisions impact not only themselves but others around them. A CEO who makes an irrational or foolish product decision can drive the company’s stock downward effecting investors and employees. A CFO who foolishly covers up material financial information similarly damages the corporate reputation and subjects the firm to negative sanctions. The greater your responsibility, the greater your need for wisdom. The greater your wisdom, the greater responsibility will come to you.
So pursue wisdom with all your heart, mind and strength.
Faith Centered Leadership Words of Wisdom
Wise leaders know that they don’t know everything. Foolish leaders think that they do know everything.
Wise leaders don’t need to tell others how vast their wisdom is. Foolish leaders need to boast about the wisdom they think they have.
Wise leaders seek more understanding to make good decisions. Foolish leaders settle for little understanding to make poor decisions.
Wise leaders consider the source of information before acting on it. Foolish leaders run with information before checking its veracity.
Wise leaders aren’t afraid to stand alone. Foolish leaders generally stand with the crowd.
Wise leaders do what is right, even if others think it’s wrong. Foolish leaders do what is wrong, because others think it’s right.
Wise leaders anticipate the future consequences of their present decisions. Foolish leaders live in the present and ignore the future.
Wise leaders value the good in others. Foolish leaders mock the good in others.
Wise leaders are rarely wise 100% of the time, but they recognize and learn from their moments of foolishness. Foolish leaders are not as wise as they think they are but they seldom recognize all the foolish moments they have.
Wise leaders freely share their wisdom with others, because they recognize that the collective wisdom of a group will improve the entire team. Foolish leaders guard their moments of wisdom closely, as if by sharing it they will lose it.
Copyright 2012 Priscilla Archangel

Higher Education

The Indoctrination of the Antichrist: A Faith Without Works

March 17, 2020 Comments Off on The Indoctrination of the Antichrist: A Faith Without Works

The word ‘indoctrination’ rings pretty harsh on the ear, doesn’t it? The thought that for thousands of years man has been subjected to false knowledge that he thought to be true, but that turns out not to be is at best a hard pill to swallow. Yet however harsh the thought thereof may be, the reality of the indoctrination of the Antichrist on faith is of even greater concern. Why you may ask? Because the indoctrination of false knowledge has paralyzed faith to the point where it has become dead; void of any works.
The workings of the Antichrist: The cause of dead faith
It’s almost impossible to think that there could be such a thing as dead faith yet the Apostle James in writing of ‘faith without works is dead’ (James 2:20) brought this out. Under his instruction those he was writing to could correctly identify the context of the works that he was referring to as he was teaching and instructing them in the doctrine of Christ; meaning that they understood what he was saying because they had received the truth of the knowledge of Jesus Christ (doctrine of Christ). In speaking of works he was not referring to man’s benevolent deeds towards humanity or fleshly deeds by which holiness is supposedly measured, instead he was referring to the spiritual works that accompanies faith that makes faith living. After all, how can faith, which is the belief (the acknowledgement, molding to and submission towards) of the testimony of Jesus Christ which is revealed to man by the grace of God be made living with earthly works? How can God who is a Spirit be touched with physical things (physical works)?
He can’t.
In speaking of the works of faith, reference is made to the activity of acknowledging, molding and submitting to God. It’s very easy to claim the lip-service of God through acknowledgement, but the indoctrination of the Antichrist has man to believe that his efforts in working out his salvation is void of any works. This influence of false knowledge has led man to believe that the only religious activity that man is accountable to is in acknowledgement and without responsibility (conforming). Speak of the spiritual works of faith and man is quick to jump to defense and deny any sort: how deep the roots of indoctrination do go!
The indoctrination of the Antichrist (Satan) has led man to believe that He can touch God in any way that he wants to. The evidence of this indoctrination is seen in how people choose to believe that they are free to serve God according to their own ways. This is not true. This is a lie sown through the false knowledge campaign of the Antichrist Spirit. God has always set parameters for faith, always given instruction for faith and always given knowledge for faith; He has never instructed, nor has he authorized man to serve Him according to his own way, according to what man thinks works best for him, nor did he base faith on the premise of man’s feelings or emotions. This is not the working of God! This is the indoctrination of Satan.
False knowledge = faith without works
False knowledge has set a very wide parameter for faith with the many branches of the denominational tree branching out more and more each day; each with its own doctrine, each with its own beliefs, each with its own traditions and rituals. Converse to this though God is specific in saying in Eph 4:5, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism”. One, not the thousands of different denominations one sees today. Certainly evidence of the result of each man believing in God his own way, wouldn’t you say?
Faith without works is dead because in the end it is void of the substance of Christ. It is the works of faith that produces Christ within; Christ does not happen within the soul of man apart from these spiritual works. Man cannot will faith into fruit. Fruit is formed by abiding in the pattern that Christ set for our faith. God designed faith with man’s participation (activity) in mind: It is when the Father (witness) and the Son (record) agree that faith is made living. Only through this (substance of Christ within) are we known of God. The covenant of Jesus Christ sets the activity for faith to be made living.
Though the indoctrination of the Antichrist may be present now, it is the testimony of Christ that will live forever.