Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

Don’t “Stop Short.”

 

Every day a Seinfeld reference comes to mind, and everyday Robin and I crack up just thinking about them. Seinfeld is our show, and we watch it before we go to bed just about every night. I suppose this shows my age :)

Today’s reading in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 makes me think of stopping short. Those words will mean something different to Seinfeld fans. Take a moment and collect yourselves since you are visualizing Frank Costanza and the episode right now. 

Anyway, leaning on worldly wisdom for our daily lives and leadership is stopping short of God’s best as a Christ-follower. It’s unfortunate how often I see this, believers who spend so much time studying and learning leadership principles and growing in knowledge but are entirely lacking in Biblical truth and God’s power. To me, this feels like pouring everything into a high-performance muscle car, rebuilding and modifying the vehicle to be the highest performance machine possible, and not putting the right fuel in the tank. This fantastic car that looks awesome and fast never reaches its full potential because it has weak fuel in the tank. The engine never fires on all cylinders, and its performance is disappointing. 

The inverse of this is also true, and I do not see it as much. All Biblical wisdom (the greatest fuel source) and no investment in the car. Pouring the right fuel in a run down, not maintained, or tuned up machine also has its limitations. We need both! I think it’s clear that Godly wisdom and Christ's power is our fuel source, and way more critical than the other...but they go hand in hand to have a maximized and to reach our fullest potential as a Christ-follower. 

Paul highlights the right fuel in his opening of chapter 2;

“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” - ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2:4-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I have such a burden burning inside of me for this, and for those who are limiting themselves, their influence, the potential, and all that Christ desires for them because they are not connected to the fuel source. A holistic approach is necessary with our leadership and growth, but we must start with God, His Word, and be fueled by the Spirit. Lord, guide us and focus us towards you, may we keep you and your Word and Spirit a priority and get this right. 



 
thoughtsTerry Storch