Today's Devotional

 

 March 20, 2009

                                                                                                                    

Subject:  Lead With Principle 

Proverbs 19:21 "There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand."

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Here's an argument that I keep making about leadership and how you must lead with a solid set of principles or guidelines, otherwise people will think you're just "shooting from the hip" and they won't know what you really stand for.

While I was in Iraq, we were doing some great things attempting to literally reconstruct the city of Baghdad after the invasion.  One of my particular areas of responsibility was the information technology and satellite connections in the building where we were working.  It wasn't long before we opened a new world for the Iraqi people as they began to have access to worldwide cable TV and news (God help them).  Soon they realized that they had access to much of the trash that most anyone can receive on many cable channels.  One day while my American associates, along with a few of our Iraqi counterparts, were flipping through the channels, they came upon some adult content.  It seemed like the "manly" thing to do because there were only males in the room.  The only obstacle was; leadership.  I was the Chief of Operations and was responsible for not only the installation of the system, but all of the people working there.  I immediately told them that the channel was off-limits.  They continued to beg me to allow them to watch this channel and I stood by my refusal with only the knowledge of knowing that it was the right thing to do.  

I loved working with the people of Iraq and the Americans who served with me will forever be a part of me because of the experiences and hardships that we shared.  Today I think about emails, letters and comments that many of my coworkers made to me, knowing that we might not share the same beliefs, but admiring that I stood on principle on so many occasions.

Today, know that life might not always work out when you stand on principle, but as I always say, "the man or woman of God doesn't always win, but they always win in the end."  Lead with principle and that principle should be found in God's word.

Carlen