NIFES Anchor Daily Devotional - January 3, 2023

January 3, 2023 TOPIC: DEVELOPING A POSITIVE ATTITUDE IN LEADERSHIP BIBLE READING: 1 Corinthians 1:4 – 9 WORD FOR TODAY: “I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Corinthians 1:4 NLT INSPIRING COMMENTARY As a leader, how do you feel about those you lead? What emotions do you often exhibit – encouraged and thankful or discouraged and complaining? It is a healthy leadership principle to stay positive and encouraged with little progress than to stay discouraged by myriads of failures and unfulfilled expectations (Philippians 4:8). Apostle Paul began his letter to the Corinthians with a positive feeling by addressing them as Saints of God and called to be holy people. He went further with words of thanksgiving to God for the spiritual gifts they have received. It is not always the case that our expectations or optimism are met or fulfilled in leadership. The Corinthian Church as we would later discover in this book was a terribly worldly and flawed Church, but Paul found something (three things) to be thankful about them, namely: the grace of God given to them in Christ Jesus (1:4); they were enriched with all spiritual gifts and knowledge (1:5); and the testimony of Christ was confirmed in them (1:6). Paul has shown us the path of positive leadership attitude which requires that we observe every bit of good and praiseworthy outcomes in the life of those we lead, before we start confronting them with the failures in their lives. Quality and matured leaders are those who combine the attitude of joy and affirmation in times of progress and take responsibility to fix or correct what is not right. There are lots of things that are praiseworthy about the Church, but the devil will want us to develop a blind spot towards the positives and dwell only on the negatives. It has become a new norm of spirituality to be overtly critical of the Church. We hear all kinds of harsh words like – the Church has failed, the Church is hypocritical, etc. If Jesus is the head of the Church, the Church cannot fail because Jesus never fails. What we need today is leaders like Paul who will celebrate and affirm the Church for her strengths, and rebuke her when she is not living right as God’s holy people. Be careful how you lead and talk about the Church because she is the bride of Christ! PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help us as leaders not to lose the joy in the service of Your Church because of the temporary short comings of the saints. Bless us with the leadership stamina and resilience we need to fulfill our ministry with joy in serving Your Church. Amen