I sat in awe at my mother’s funeral. As I heard friend after friend share what my mother meant to them, I realized there were traits my mother had that I hadn’t noticed before. I saw so many things I started taking notes. I didn’t want to forget what I heard. I already knew I had an awesome mother that I loved very much. I was just overlooking some things.
For example, my mom was tenacious. She fought like heck after her stroke to get back on her feet and to get moving forward in her life. That’s just one of many traits I saw. After the funeral, I was reflecting on what I heard. I asked myself the question “Why do people have to die before you realize how awesome they were?” The truth is, you don’t!
I learned something that day. Years of advice I had received from others started making sense… You have to always try to look for the good in others. I know that everyone is a sinner. I know the heart of man is deceitful. But, WE ARE THE HANDIWORK OF GOD, even if we have screwed up real bad.
You see, leadership is influence. Everybody influences somebody. The thing to ask is “Am I influencing others towards Jesus or away from him?” We should want to influence people for good, towards Jesus. And an important part of being able to influence towards God is the learned ability to always find the good in others.
If we can always try to find the good in others, here are some benefits:
1) People we lead will enjoy following more. They will respond better to our leadership. We all want to follow someone who can help us feel like we have potential and can make a difference.
2) We won’t write off “bad” people as quickly. The truth is nobody is beyond the reach of God’s grace. Plus, we’ve got no business writing anyone off in the first place.
4) We won’t demonize others that are different from us. I’m thinking here about politics, people we work with, etc.
5) We will be more godly in the way we treat others
Are you looking for the good in others? Why or why not?