Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “loyalty”

03 Oct 2022
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Divided Loyalty

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight. Luke 16:13-15 NIV

Jesus very pointedly addresses a core issue for the Pharisees. Note that Jesus points out their heart issue – they loved money. The accumulation of personal wealth was a high value for them. No doubt there were some who questioned this value, perhaps among the Pharisees themselves. But they justified their choices and behavior, making excuses and giving reasons that on the surface sounded plausible.

This value and behavior had become commonplace among the Pharisees, for Luke notes that they as a group all loved money. This love of money was seen by others around them, but they had become blinded to this conflict of interest. For Jesus points out that their root issue was not one of behavior or lifestyle, but rather one of the heart. They had become lovers of money instead of lovers of God.

Jesus rebukes their acceptance of loving money by saying that no one can serve two Masters. You cannot have a divided loyalty. Loving God and serving Him is not compatible with loving money and serving the accumulation of wealth.

Few Kingdom leaders wake up one day and decide to love money instead of loving God. Rather, it is a slow shift in values and heart direction, incrementally drawing us away from our first love. Little choices made daily over a long time frame gradually allows new values to replace old. We compare our choices and lifestyles with others, focusing only on those that support our own values while ignoring those who live sacrificial, self-denying lives. We justify ourselves saying, “Well, no need to get too radical here.”

Our hearts speak through our value-driven choices and resulting behaviors. What are you modeling for those you lead and for the lost world that is looking for authentic faith? How’s your heart? What do you really love in this life? Or should we say, “Who do you love?”

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , , ,
13 Dec 2021

True Friends

And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 1 Samuel 23:16 NIV

We are people of many acquaintances, but how many true friends do we have?  We get out of our relationships what we put into them.  Those who accept us when we make ourselves vulnerable or share our inner, true selves are good friends.  David and Jonathan had such a friendship.

What does a real friend look like?  A true friend is one who listens to us.  We can open our hearts and know they will always accept us.  A true friend is loyal, especially in times of trials.  A true friend does not break a confidence-–they can keep a secret.  A real friend encourages and stimulates us to follow the Lord wholeheartedly, wanting what’s best for us, not themselves.

  • Loyalty is one of the greatest qualities of a true friend.  What do the following passages say about loyalty? -– Proverbs 17:17; Proverbs 18:24
  • A genuine friend will not betray our confidence.  They will keep a secret and not gossip about us or slander us to others.  What do the following passages say concerning breaking a confidence? -– Proverbs 20:19; Proverbs 25:9-10

Questions to ponder:  What true friends do you have? Have you expressed to them your appreciation recently?

Passages for further reflection: Proverbs 18:19; Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , ,

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