The prayers of the Puritans have a lot to say to us today! If you've never seen the book "Valley of Vision" by Arthur Bennett, get your hands on a copy. It's a collection of Puritan prayers and it's a great devotional tool.
Now before you think I'm about to start preaching, hang in there. This post starts with a line that is definitely intended as spiritual "food for thought." However, I think it has a practical day to day leadership/life application too.
On page 219 of "Valley" in the midst of a prayer called "Morning Needs" there is a great line that just leaped off the page at me a few Sundays ago: "May I engage in nothing in which I cannot implore they blessing, and in which I cannot invite thy inspection." Whew! That's a high standard for the day. What if we put every action and every interaction up to that standard that Jesus was standing right beside us inspecting our activity? As I reminded myself and my Sunday School class last week: HE IS!
Now, let's apply this to leadership and life. You are bound to have a hero or mentor in your chosen field of endeavor. It may be someone you know or just someone you've read about or seen at a distance but to you they represent the "standard" in what you strive to achieve. Given the opportunity, you'd gladly spend extensive time with them at your side coaching, teaching, and encouraging you from their font of wisdom.
What if you imagined that this hero/mentor was inspecting your interactions and work today, everywhere you went and in every situation you encounter? Stop just a second and imagine that special achiever you admire so much. I'll wait. Got it? Do you see them in your mind's eye? How would you change the way you act and respond if Mr. or Ms. Mentor was watching? How would you alter your actions if you were trying to emulate the good qualities you admire in him or her?
What if they were with you in every meeting and on every phone call? What if you shared your TO DO list for the day and asked their opinion about what to make your top priorities for the day? And what you crossed off the to do list at the end? What about every interaction with each client and co-worker? What would they think about how you responded in a crisis or a challenge?
I suspect we'd all give more thought to each action we take and how we handle it if we measured it against the yardstick of those we hold in high regard as the model of great performance. I'm not suggesting we not be ourselves or trade our unique personal style in for a carbon copy of someone else. But the way we get ahead in life is to learn from the good qualities of others and model those.
So, who will you be taking to work with YOU today? Or on the golf course; or at home with the family? It's an interesting exercise to think about. By the way, (Warning: I'm going back to preaching now!) believers in Christ DO have the ultimate model to carry along with us. And best of all it's not just our imagination. He's here and he HELPS!
John 15:5 says: "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."
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