I’ve always heard that hurt people hurt people. I agree with this sentiment and would take it a step further and say that if hurt people hurt people then hurt leaders hurt LOTS of people.
Going into this New Year, one of the things I’m really trying to focus on is my own personal spiritual health. I realize that in my position of leadership, my hurt, my patterns of sin, and my unaddressed issues can bring a tremendous amount of pain to the people entrusted to my leadership.
I think somewhere along the way, we leaders (especially Christian leaders) have bought into this idea that we should be “beyond” or “above” being hurt. We think, If I were a stronger Christian, I wouldn’t hurt so much.
This misconception has created a lot of habits for us. It’s why we keep secrets. It’s why we can put on facades and pretend we’re someone we’re not. We’ve learned how to say one thing and mean another, how to hide fear and deceit behind a fake smile.
We’ve learned how to respond to the question, “How are you?” with “I’m fine.” But deep down, we know this isn’t true. We’re not fine. We’re not fine at all.
We are…
Hurting,
Lonely,
Confused,
Frightened.
And in the midst of these whirling emotions, I’m often tempted to want to exchange friends for fans, relationships for respect, and intimacy for influence.
Can I offer you a bit of advice going into 2012? Don’t be seduced by life on the pedestal.
We are leaders, but first we are human. We hurt, bleed, suffer, doubt, and stumble just like anyone else. We must learn to allow Christ to transform our pain, or we’ll just transfer it to the people we lead.
So here’s to a year where we get real with each other and the people God’s allowed us to lead!!
