Let’s be real. Not everyone is a natural born leader. My optimistic self says it’s 50/50, but the pessimist in me is winning, and tending more towards 10-15% (at best) of the general population. Beyond the walls of this rather lowball percentage, i.e. the sheep of the pack, are folks who are intentional about learning the art of leadership, thus an increase to say 20-25%. As for the others, I’ld say we are content being led.
Here is the burning question. Who is leading you?
I also gotta ask…
Should you be one of the natural born leaders, or the specialty few of learned leaders, how do you lead?
We live in a social media age, and with it comes many influencers. Both those with actual niche/valuable knowledge, and those that fake it long enough to be believable. In this dog-eat-dog world, it’s a numbers game, and your reach, and/or range of influence is determined by those numbers. The more followers, the more ‘legitimate’, which earns (or buys) you the verified badge, cementing your ‘authenticity’.
The pitfall is that not everyone takes the extra step to fact check.
But I’ld say that it’s about the right time to dig deeper. Like, what is actually being sold? Is it real, or coated as real? What am I being influenced to buy in to, and does it even benefit me? Better yet, do I actually need it? Jesus talked about false prophets disguised as lambs, appearing to be genuine, but who are actually more like ravenous wild wolves on the inside |Matthew 7:15|. Yikes!
We’ve been warned.
They will come out in droves. Just think festival of San Fermin in Pamplona. You have to be on guard, and in some cases that means running as fast, and as far as your legs can carry you, or like was said in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, an Indian movie I watched with my momma yesterday, you’ll be dangling on their horns like tandoori chicken on skewers! I have been the tandoori chicken a time or two 🤦🏽♀️💆🏽♀️.
For context, that would look like getting into debt to fit in, or going down a certain path to bank roll a lifestyle, or over exerting yourself to stay in the race, ignoring self care so as not to be left behind. It could also look like compromising your values to maintain a status, taking your mentors every word without personal research, or following your church leader/pastor without as much as a minute searching the Bible for confirmation, or your own personal revelation.
In the beginning of my christian walk, the baby that I was just followed the scent of milk. I’ll be honest and say that I was more of a follower of my pastor, than I was Christ. But Jesus explicitly said…follow me |Matthew 4:19|. Not my vessels, me.
And with good reason, because I gotta say that although hearing what Jesus did for me, or how God sees me from the mouths of others ignited my faith, I wasn’t all the way sold. Thankfully, the more mature I got, the more meat I craved, and at some point, I changed course and gunned more toward seeking Jesus Himself, than Jesus in man (humans). It wasn’t until I searched scriptures for myself, and in a sense walked with Jesus, did it become personal.
Also, being privy to the human-ness of leaders (in whatever capacity) has shown me first hand that if my faith is not in God alone, I run the risk of falling away, maybe even going as far as leaving the faith. Why? Because we tend to blame God for the acts of men.
So in your everyday life, before you run off with what anyone says or sells, consider Phil 4:8 Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [centre your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]. Dear friends, I guess what I am trying to say in not so many, many words is…
…in a world of influencers, public figures and leaders, Jesus is King. Live deeply rooted in Him, as sheep. His promise to you is follow me and I will make you...
Happy monyaaaaaay!
Xoxo
Mel ❤️
Image:- @pinterest
WateredSeed 