“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” - Luke 12:32-34
In these verses of Luke, Jesus is talking to his disciples. Starting at Luke 12:13 and ending at 12:34, the scripture has a direct lesson of money and tangible items. This lesson can be that we should use money for God’s purpose and not accumulate it for ourselves. I see this lesson, as well as another.
“I know Mom.” These words would make my mother shiver and quickly insist on an apology from me as she began a lengthy lecture of manners soon after. My father was the same way except his lectures were more direct with three to four words that still got the point across. After the lecture, the respected parent would then continue to finish the fact or lesson they were telling me. As I look back now, a 6 to14 year old boy had no reason telling a multi awarded physics/chemistry teacher and a master plumber “I know.” As I have grown, advanced in my career, learning the teachings of God, and raising a family, my parents reasoning for directing me to keep that phrase to myself has become clear. They were teaching me the simple yet hard character trait of humility.
The Crown and the Shepherd’s Crook introduction is immersed with ideas of leadership. The statement that stood out to me is “Do we accept, with humility, our own authority and lay down our crowns to lead as Jesus led?”. With my parents help, I have learned one way to lay down the crown is shutting out the “I know.” This has helped me stay humble yet succeed.
In my career as a leader, I have gotten ideas from my crews because I never say, “I know.” If I did know, I still respond with “your right,” or “that’s a great idea.” New ideas ultimately come across that never crossed my mind. I would never get these ideas if I were a stubborn boss that falsely acted like I knew everything. I am open in my humility, as I openly request for ideas and solutions.
As a team, we take these ideas from crew members and implement them. The fact that these ideas were being attempted, and mostly successful, gave feeling of self-worthiness and accomplishment to the crew or the individual. I too get a feeling of happiness when I see joy in the eyes of the team. This feeling, to me, is directly linked to Luke 32: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” God wants us all to become better and grow, it gives him pleasure to do so.
As leaders, show humility, and pick up the shepherd’s crook. Put the crown down and do not act as if we know everything. I guarantee we do not. Watch the flock succeed and grow as better people with treasure in their hearts, as they will help us grow at the same time.
The joy that we get with this is the “good pleasure” that Jesus refers, which is a greater feeling of love than a crown on the head. Amen.
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