Has it occurred to you that a leader is a fighter? Do you realize that every good leader is often engaged in one battle or the other? It is important for a leader to identify good fights so that he does not retreat from them when he has to fight. Here are some of the fights that you should be ready to engage in. Prepare yourself to fight because you are a leader!
Fight the good fight of faith . . .
1Timothy 6:12
The Cardinal Fights of a Leader
A leader fights to associate with great leaders.
For instance, if you are a pastor, it is not easy to get close to men of God. It takes years of fighting, relating, flowing and humbling yourself to be close to anointed people. Most leaders are not prepared for this fight. Most people give up trying to associate with other leaders when they realize that they have to fight to be close and also fight to maintain the close relationship. It is not easy to be associated. Elisha had to fight to be close to Elijah (2 Kings 2:1-6). It was a fight that he won. Are you ready to fight this good fight?
And Elijah said unto Elisha, ‘Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel.’ And Elisha said unto him, ‘As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I WILL NOT LEAVE thee.’ So they went down to Bethel.
2 Kings 2:2 2.
A leader fights to stay in what he has been called to do.
Once you get into the ministry, it is a struggle to stay on the right course in ministry. Some young missionaries have to take jobs and become lay pastors so that they can support themselves in the mission field. For some, within a short time, their hearts shift from real ministry into mere secular business.
It is easy to slip and slide away from your real calling. For instance, when God blesses your ministry and you have a large church, it is easy to become a preacher of nonsense. The leader may start to think that the basic truths of the Word of God are rather too basic to preach. If you are a pastor, you may have to fight a good fight to avoid becoming a motivational speaker instead of a preacher. Fight to stay in what you have been called to do as a leader! For DEMAS HATH FORSAKEN ME, HAVING LOVED THIS PRESENT WORLD, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
2 Timothy 4:10
A leader fights against colour stereotypes. And he said, ‘Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.’
And he said, ‘Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.’
‘God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.’
Genesis 9:25-27
Black people are noted for their lack of development, poverty, shabbiness, filth, confusion, disorganization and inability to prosper! White people are noted for their love of money, lack of relationships, homosexuality, divorce, gay marriages, atheism, smoking, alcoholism and high suicide rates!
Unfortunately, these stereotypes are real patterns that we need to fight. If you are a white man or a black man, fight to dissociate from these stereotypes. Distance yourself from any of these stereotypes. Take on the characteristics of a leader rather than the characteristics of a black man or a white man. That is a good fight worth fighting for!
A leader fights for fruitfulness.
For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:8
This fight involves galvanizing many hidden qualities and straightening your life out. You will notice that fruitfulness is connected to diligence, faith, godliness, temperance, knowledge, virtue and patience. These are all spiritual qualities that do not look like they are linked to fruitfulness. But they are! They are the real determinants of your fruitfulness. All through your life, you will fight for diligence, temperance, faith, knowledge, brotherly kindness and charity. It is a good and worthwhile fight because it is a fight for fruitfulness.
May God grant every leader the strength to fight to attain fruitfulness! May each leader identify the worthy fights and be prepared for them!
theaol@ymail.com
By Dag Heward-Mills
