It’s a simple, but wholly transformational principle. We pursue what we treasure. All humans at all times and all places are always chasing something. We are wired to hunt for what we don’t yet have.
We understand this intuitively. For instance, what do we do when someone has lost all drive and motivation? We tag it, diagnose it and medicate it. Have you ever wondered why? It’s because we understand that something went wrong. When a person is listless, aimless, depressed and unmotivated, we know it’s unhealthy. They are not doing what they were created to do. A stagnant soul diminishes a flourishing life.
Good leadership studies what people value, beginning with themselves. Why? Because what we value reveals what motivates us. Take a minute and ask yourself a couple of XRay questions:
XRay Question # 1: What Do Our Pursuits Reveal About What We Value?
I once saw an advertisement for the Olympic Games that featured a picture of a runner perched on his mark. Sweat crowned his forehead, intensity filling his unblinking eyes, and his muscles were taut, ready to detonate at the sound of the gun. Beneath the picture was this caption: “He’s waited his entire life for the next ten seconds.”
What motivates Olympic athletes to train for years for one event—in some cases, for just seconds of actual competition? It’s the same thing that makes a person venture out of a comfortable job to start a new business. We see it in the artist who spends day after day in a studio chipping away at a block of stone. Look closely and you’ll find it in the shopper who passes up the good deal in search of the best deal. It’s one of the things that makes us most human. We consciously pursue what we value.
What is it for you? What does the use of your time and money reveal about what you prize?
It’s not simply a matter of being driven by biology or genetics or environmental conditioning to satisfy instinctive cravings. Rather, we perceive something, prize it at a certain value, then pursue it according to our assigned value. We were created to think this way. The question is, does your pursuit align with God’s will for your life and leadership?
Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”. (Matt. 6: 33)
Paul said, “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3: 13-14).
Roll those passages over in your mind. Does unwrapping your priorities and pursuits reveal that you are racing in God’s kingdom towards the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ?
XRay Question #2: What Pursuits Does Our Leadership Inspire in Others?
Chances are, if you’re reading this, you are serving in some capacity as a leader. And, chances are, if you’re a leader, you understand this fundamental aspect of human nature. You probably put it to all sorts of uses as you work to inspire people to press ahead with their work or in their faith.
Recognizing this requires that, if we want to honor the Lord in how we lead, we need to ask ourselves, what sorts of dreams and desires are we inciting in those we lead? What are we calling them to pursue? Are we calling them to align their treasure with what God values? The strongest motivations within the human soul are powered by synching our passions to what God values.
Leaders, what we call people to pursue will dramatically shape their lives. Our call carries influence. Responsibility rides on our shoulders, though thankfully, not all responsibility.
We don’t have to go on a leadership quest to discover the right answers. Use your leadership to glory in the gospel and revel in the worth of God.
As leaders, let’s live in a way that points those we lead to the One we passionately love.
Questions
Knowing how people operate really helps to lead them effectively. Take a minute to assess what you hold out to others as worthy of their pursuit? Does what you offer align with what God tells us is valuable?
Prayer
Lord God, you have made us to pursue you with all our heart and soul and mind and strength. Help me first to love you, then in love for you help me use my influence to point others to love you, that in all things I might fulfill your law. Amen.
Photo by Ashin K Suresh on Unsplash
