A large child sponsorship organization that I respect says on their website, “Sponsoring a child with our organization is the most cost-effective way to end extreme child poverty.”
I have founded and ran a child sponsorship and leadership development organization for over 12 years now. And I have spent tremendous amounts of time researching and working with these issues. When I read their claim, I immediately knew that they were not telling the truth. Child sponsorship doesn’t address the roots of poverty which are usually found in corruption, culture that is limiting, and poor governance.
You may have heard your favorite famous preacher say something that as a doctor, you know is plain wrong. You may not be a doctor but a professional in a different field and a leader you trust makes a claim that as an expert in the field you know that it’s untrue.
You know the situations I’m talking about, when those who exert influence over you and those you have respected are plainly wrong and don’t even know it.
What do you do?
What you do in those moments says a lot about you, not them.
Can you follow a leader who sometimes is flat out wrong? Or are you looking for a perfect leader?
Can your religious leader stumble and commit a really big sin and you still see in him a person that is family? A person who has spent the last 5 years loving and pouring into your life?
Does the revelation of his sin make you want to hang him or is your heart moved with compassion so much so that you jump in and help shepherd your shepherd in hopes that when he is healed he might turn around and shepherd you again?
Do you say, no way, even if he repents and changes, this sin forever disqualifies him from leadership and trust?
In the vindictive culture we live in, a culture short on grace and long on revenge, how we treat those who lead and have loved us when they fall says a lot about us.
It says a lot about how we treat our marriages, friendships, team members at work and other significant relationships.
Grace doesn’t have to condone sin but it also doesn’t condemn and hang the sinner. Instead, it sees the sinner as needing help and restoration and reaches out to do so.
Grace always remembers the seven thousand good deeds that a person has done prior to committing the seven deadly sins.
If you can work with a fallen leader and help him or her find ways to heal and then to continue to lead you, you say something about the way you will handle your marriage, your family, friends, and team members.
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