LEADER TO LEADER DEVOTIONS with Mary Ann Young

We Are The Light of the World

You are the light of the world.
A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand,
and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and
glorify your Father in heaven.
                                  -Matthew 5:14-16 NIV

Remember when we were little and afraid of the dark?
One little night light made all the difference.
Or how about when the power went out and a flashlight or a candle brought light into the darkness of a storm?
That's who we are to the world.
One little night light, one flashlight, one tiny flickering flame.

It is our Christ in us who bears the light that we then reflect and share.
In a world where darkness seems to lurk at every turn, we are the light, His Light.  

One smile, one helping hand, one encouraging word, one prayer at a time.
Reflect on them in that order, progressing from a smile to a prayer.

One Smile. 
Greeting others throughout the day with a smile and warm greeting.
Sometimes we are the only smile people will receive as they go through the day. 
The positive energy that radiates from a smile can energize those we work with. 
Our people can choose whether or not, or even to work productively or not.
How we treat them as fellow laborers factors into that. 
Our people need to know we care and are glad to have them on our teams.

One Helping Hand. 
Holds doors open, offer to pick up coffee, roll up the sleeves and pull up a chair in the conference room when a project is nearing a deadline. 
Sometimes our people need a hand with difficult feedback, something that can change their trajectory at work.
Care enough to share it with them.
Having established a good working relationship, ask them to considerdoing something differently. 

One Encouraging Word. 
Always be on the lookout to encourage those who are meeting expectations as freely as we do those who are exceeding.
This is a little more difficult, because we think "they are just doing what is expected", encouraging our work horses has great impact.
Noticing when an average performer does well can fuel them to be a better performer, just because they know we actually do see what they are doing right. 

One Prayer. 
Now we get to go stealth.
Praying for them, by name on a regular basis.

Praying a silent prayer in real-time, eyes wide open, as we walk through the workplace.

Praying for the one thing that is driving us crazy.

Praying to see them with Jesus' heart.
Yes, Jesus' heart, not eyes.
We are to love, not always evaluate...

Those made in His image.
Those who are loved enough for Him to bear death on a cross.
Those who are strategically placed on our teams.

As Leaders, we are light to those we lead.
Our words, our actions, and sometimes our very presence can bring the Light into the marketplace.
Ask God to transform our words, actions, and presence so that we might be the Light of the world, one little light at a time breaking into the darkness.