A great danger in Christ-centered leadership is to become disconnected. Not by way of communication or relationship or values. Rather, it is to disconnect the blessings of God from the purpose of God. Throughout the Bible we see God blessing His people in various ways. He blesses them with families and with livestock. He blesses them with land and with a heritage. He blesses them with victory over their enemies. He blesses them with direction and meaning. He blesses them materially.
In the 1990s a movement arose in the US called the “prosperity gospel”. The teaching of these religious leaders said that those who have faith in God will have health, wealth, and success, and that poverty and sickness are signs of a lack of faith. These beliefs are in direct contradiction to the Bible. Yet in US culture, which is among the wealthiest in the world, these teachings found a home. The poverty level in the US for a family of four is $32,150 in annual income.[1] Yet that income level places that family in the top 1% of all families globally.[2] Despite top-level wealth in the US, most people are striving for more, and desiring to use their wealth to further their own lives and living standard.
Many leaders who have a relationship with God want to experience the blessings of God. We ask God for blessings. We pray about it and we earnestly seek God’s best. Leaders experience God’s blessings in many ways—in their possessions and comforts, in their family and relationships, in their talents and skills, and in their position or authority. We may have many of the desires of our hearts, live in relative peace and affluence, and be building positive and productive lives.
And yet, if not careful we may miss the reason that God gives these blessings. Psalm 67:1-2 details the purpose behind God’s blessing. The psalmist writes, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.” The connection is in the “so that”… God’s grace and blessings, the Bible says, are given so that His salvation may be known among all nations.
So that we may worship Him. Because God is higher than all of us, it follows that He would have no greater purpose than His own glory. This might seem self-centered, and it is. God is entirely self-centered—who else would He glory above Himself? Remember the Second Commandment: “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…” Exodus 20:4-5. Acknowledging and thanking God for His blessings is one way that we can worship Him.
So that His name made be made great. God’s blessings are not exclusively for our own enjoyment. He often blesses us so that we can, in turn, bless others. It doesn’t honor God to amass power, possessions and prestige, only to be used for our own ends. A selfish lifestyle results when we stop at the first half of Psalm 67:1-2 and don’t acknowledge the “so that”. God desires His “ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.” We must see what we have as a means by which to facilitate that through our lives and leadership.
Mind the gap is a safety warning originating with the London Underground in 1968. It reminds people to be careful to cross over the void separating the platform and the subway train, lest they slip or fall. With our blessings we also need to “mind the gap” between our desires and their spiritual purpose. God indeed enjoys and often lavishing blessings on His people. May we not assume that we have what we have only for ourselves. Rather we need to look for ways we can use God’s best to share our faith and meet the practical needs all around us in Jesus’ name. This vital connection between blessing and purpose bridges a potential gap in our faithful leadership.
Many leaders who have a relationship with God want to experience the blessings of God. We ask God for blessings. We pray about it and we earnestly seek God’s best.