The Art of Leadership
Charity is the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another. It is a selfless love of one person for another. Most people love others when they have a good reason to do so. But God loves us even though there is no good reason to do so. That is agape love! That is charity! Somehow, people who have charity prosper and receive even more blessings from the Lord. If you only do good because you think of a reward, you do not have charity.
Three Things A Leader Should Know About Charity
- Charity leads to unity. With unity, almost everything is possible. Imagine being a leader with a trait that leads to unity! Your visions and dreams are achievable when you have the love of God. Through love, you will be united and the leader will be able to achieve great things!
“And above all these things put on CHARITY, WHICH IS THE BOND of perfectness” (Colossians 3:14).
- Charity causes you to never fail. Your plans will never fail, your purposes will never fail, your ministry will never fail, your work will never fail, your aims will never fail and your marriage will never fail if you have the love of God. Love never fails! This is the best positive trait you could desire for yourself. It is the element that guarantees that you will not fail. Are you a leader who does not want to fail? You need charity! Love never fails.
“Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with” (1 Corinthians 13:8, NASB).
- Charity is a good foundation for everything you do. It is important to be rooted and grounded in love. It is important to have your foundations in love. Whether it is to marry or to serve God, the foundation of love is the best foundation you can have. To be rooted and grounded in love is a better foundation for what you are doing than to be rooted in hatred, jealousy or greed.
“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being ROOTED AND GROUNDED IN LOVE, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19).
The Old Man’s Treasure
A certain man had four sons. His sons used to care for him a lot. They used to visit him and spend time with him often. As he grew older he became less and less wealthy. With time the man’s wife died. The widower sought the company of his sons but he did not get it.
His sons were pursuing different dreams and trying to be successful. They also realised that their father was no longer wealthy so they lost interest in him. The old man started feeling so lonely that he sought a way to gain the fellowship of his sons.
One day, after much thought, he approached his friend the carpenter to carve him a beautiful treasure box. He also fixed some gold locks on the box to secure its contents. The old man then filled the box with broken bottles. He placed the box under the dining table. His plan was to deceive his sons that the sound of the bottles was the sound of a great treasure they would inherit from him.
He then invited his sons to a special dinner. During dinner, one of his sons accidentally kicked the box. The sound caught the attention of all the sons and they asked their father about the box. He happily informed them about his treasure that they would inherit at his death. With a treasure to be inherited from their ailing father, the unloving sons were transformed into caring sons. They took turns to spend time with their father and cared for all his needs.
Eventually the old man died and the sons held a great memorial service to honour their father. They invited guests from far and wide and spent a lot of money to honour their father’s memory. They were in great expectation for the treasure they would receive after the funeral. Finally, they sat down together to break open the treasure box which had the golden locks. They almost collapsed when they discovered they had inherited a box of broken bottles of all shapes, colours and sizes.
They looked at each other in disbelief. They had been deceived. After a long deafening silence the oldest brother spoke out. With a trembling voice he said, “We deserve these broken bottles. We were only prepared to love our father when we knew we would get something from him.”
Learn this important lesson: indeed, it is of great importance for every leader to possess this all-important personal trait – charity!
theaol@ymail.com
By Dag Heward-Mills