Proverbs 14: 8 (NLT) The prudent understand where they are going, but fools deceive themselves.
(NIV) The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.
Reflection or deception – that seems to be the choice in these verses.
Effective leaders know that both external factors (events happening around them over which they exert little or no control) and internal factors (not just the team, but also “self-talk”) are the two issues that can knock them off course.
Reflecting on these two issues is important, but simply reflecting about purpose, mission and strategy without the addition of action also produces yet another kind of deception. Action make purpose real. Passion gives purpose meaning.
Passionate leaders not only understand the business purpose (its vision), but also they clearly understand the mission and they observe what is happening today while looking ahead. They determine strategy based, not just on some static document, but on the realities of a dynamic marketplace. Change happens. Reflecting on that change is prudent.
These behaviors of reflection, response and reordering do not happen in a vacuum - they are shaped by the values of the leader. Believing leaders value their Creator's insights, His “workmanship” in the fabric of their lives and they follow His guidelines.
Are you consulting your Creator in prayer and meditation, asking for wisdom and discernment to be acutely aware of what is coming in the business environment in which you operate? Are you aware of what God in doing in your live to shape you in the image of the Lord Jesus?
Discussion Guide
Do you know where you are going – your purpose. Reflect on purpose and share with others in your group your purpose – what has God uniquely wired you to do and be?
Have you given thought to your “ways?” Discuss how you think God has shaped your personality – the way you fulfill your purpose. Honor Him for his Creation His workmanship in you.
Discuss: “Take a rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop” [Ovid]
Read the following and discuss how each impacts your thinking about a business person’s reflective life – what do these verses mean in practical, day-to-day terms?
Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2; Psalms 37:7; Psalm 63:6; Matthew 11:28-30; and, Philippians 4:6-7
Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell
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