Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin was a very interesting book I read for the Leadership Theory and Practice class. I highly recommend it if you are interested in history or politics.
In the final week of my Leadership Theory and Practice class, one of my assignments was to listen to an interview between Dr. Jeff Myers and Dr. Voddie Baucham. Dr. Voddie Baucham brings up the issue of authority many times throughout the interview. He really convicted me of the way I respond to the authority figures in my life, especially my mother and father. Baucham mentions that the way we respond to people in authority is the way we respond to God’s authority. I feel like I need to be more aware of the way I am responding to my parent’s authority, not just being willing to obey when I agree with their decisions, but more importantly, when I don’t.
I feel that God is calling me to have more of an attitude of service in my home, offering the gifts God gave me to bless my family. I need to trust the authority He has me under. Dr. Voddie Baucham made me realize that I need to give, not just live in my home. Romans 13:1 says “let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Even if you don’t always see eye to eye with your parents, God has placed them in that position of leadership, and we are all called to trust the authority God has put us under. Easier said than done, I know. But we have a biblical obligation to submit to our rulers.
Someone once asked me, “what if that manager you loathed the most was the person you showed the most respect?” Yikes. I immediately felt the gunshot of conviction right to my heart. Since then, I have tried my best to make every response to the people I work with thoughtful and respectful. The more I do it, the more of a habit respect is becoming to me. It has been the hardest behavior change for me to adopt, and the most fruitful.
My prayer is that I would learn how to humbly submit to my parents and develop an attitude of service in my home. Not only with my words, but with my actions. I pray that without saying anything, I could become an example of biblical service to my family.
Winter of Wildflowers 