Leadership

"It's maturity when someone is attacking you and you look at their perspective and don't act out in anger." Thinking of them and not of yourself. It is so hard to not lash back when someone attacks our character and who we are. But it takes humility to come towards them in love and to realize that it's not about you and to look at things through the other person's eyes.
This came from class today, along with discussing the attitudes of a leader. Being a leader takes humbleness, initiative, being strong, courageous, and God focused. We discussed David and his leadership ability when he stepped forth to take on the mighty Goliath. He was humble in his ability, always giving glory to God. It took initiative for him to step up and say, "I will face Goliath." It took strength and courage to go before someone who was twice his size. What else did it take for this young man to go before the Philistine army? David had to know himself. He knew what his strengths were and he trusted God to give him protection. David stepped forth with five smooth stones, because he knew Goliath had four brothers, so once he had taken down Goliath, he would have enough ammo to take down Goliath's brothers. David was not going to miss, and he knew it. He had developed the skills that God has given him and took confidence in his ability.
God has blessed us all with certain abilities. No matter what those skills are, we are given opportunities to lead and to shepherd those around us. How many times do we take initiative to step forward in these situations? Do we have confidence in our abilities? Have we developed the abilities that God has given us? It is important to know what are strengths are and to develop these strengths so that we can use them to the best of our ability. It is not our role to be competent in every strength, for that is the beauty of community. We don't all have the same exact strengths, and God made us that way on purpose. He wants us to develop the skills we have and rely on those around us to help fill our weaknesses. Community is something glorious and it takes some humility to say, "I don't know it all and I'm not the greatest in this area, but I know those around me can do better in this area." It's using our talents and using the talents of those around us, combining these forces, when we become most effective. So I challenge all of you to discover your strengths, and develop those skills. Use what God has blessed you with.

My Top 5 Strengths: 1. Includer 2. Harmony 3. Empathy 4. Achiever 5. Positivity