Monday Morning Leadership Devo

(Originally published on March 16, 2009)

Leadership in Crisis

Our country is in economic crisis. In just the few short weeks since President Obama took office, $3 trillion in wealth has been lost. You can own a share of General Motors right now for under 2 bucks! Crisis. And that word may not due justice to the current situation in our country.

So what’s a leader to do?

This is when I am glad that I am a Christian. Because I follow Jesus, these words of his from the Book of Matthew have more meaning for me today than they did a year ago.

Passage for Reflection:

Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV)
19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Isn’t it true? Earthly treasure, whether it be a house, car, stock, IRA, 401(k), etc., is never a sure thing. A fire can burn your house just like it did a family in our neighborhood last month. A thief can force your garage door open and steal your car just like what happened to another family in our neighborhood last year. And in what seems like the blink of an eye, you can watch the accumulated wealth of a life time just simply disappear as the stock market tumbles out of control. Just like that, all gone. So what do you do? Rebuild, file an insurance claim and go car shopping, and in many cases, delay retirement. What else can you do? Some people give up and call it quits. Kill themselves. Sounds crazy but some people are so tied to their earthly treasure that when it goes, so do they.

But we are Christians. That’s supposed to mean something. There are NO guarantees in this life. There are good seasons and bad. There are wet times and dry. There are times of wealth and times of poverty. That’s life. And that is exactly why we need something more.

So what’s a leader to do? A Christian leader points people in a new direction. A heavenly direction. To do this you first have to quit worrying about yourself. I promise, God will take care of you. He always does. No promises on retirement age or anything like that, but God will cover your needs. If you can have faith in that, then you can possibly be of some use to others in times such as these. People are looking for answers. They still want and need to invest, but investing in heaven is a very different thing than investing on earth.

So take some time this week to think on these things. What exactly does “laying up treasure in heaven” look like? There’s really no such thing as a “safe” safe on earth. Wealth can disappear in the snap of a finger. But that which is invested in heaven is not only safe, but will return unimaginable dividends.

Invest in heaven. It’s the only sure thing.

Blessings,
Jeff