Love and Lead

Hey, everyone. Welcome into Made for Mondays with Justin. I'm so happy you're here this morning. The reason I'm on here first before we jump into our session today is simply to bring up a opportunity to all of you. Made for Mondays for me was started as a way to follow through this.

Year, as a way to follow through.

On some thoughts, some passions, some goals, and to finalize some things in my own personal life. And I appreciate all of you who have been faithful, awesome listeners to me.

As we get to the end of.

The year, I wanted to dedicate the month of November to really answer any questions that you might have. For me actually giving those moments to simply answer them straight out to the point, cut through whatever that is, whether they're questions on leadership, family, children, church, whatever it is. I would love to do that and give some time in the month of October, sorry, the month of November, to give you a space to ask me questions, to engage. And so do me a favor, throughout the month of October, go ahead and email me@revjr lestermail.com that's R E V J R lestermail.com and I would love to take some time and to not only connect with you who are listeners, some of you who have reached out and let us know that you've enjoyed this. And some of you, I don't know yet. And so I would love to hear from you and take some time during the month of November to answer any questions and all questions you might have about leadership, life, love, purposes, passions, whatever that is. All right, now let's take a moment. We're gonna jump right into Made for Mondays today. I'm really excited about what the next month is going to entail for all of us as we continue on this journey called, well, life. Talk to you soon.

Well, hey everyone. Welcome into Made for Mondays. I'm so glad you guys are here today as we engage in this week. And let's jump into the end of the month of September as we look forward to October as we end this month. And I reflect upon this, the entirety of this last season in terms of the last six months of our lives as we see so much that's happened in our world from life, racial justice, racial injustice, the coronavirus, the revelation of so much I believe that pandemics have a very interesting way, that crisis has a very interesting way of revealing the true problems in our world. And we're seeing the true problems in our world beyond just racial things, that health disparities, economic disparities, a lot of issues that are going on in our world and a lot of splits where we're at. And as I wrestle with this, I want to challenge you as you go into this week to be people who love other people. Now, it's interesting. Jesus, the greatest commandment he gives to the people. In the gospel of Mark, as he tells his disciples, he says, listen, I want you to love you, love God, love your neighbor as yourselves. And as beautiful as that statement is that Jesus gives to his disciples, I believe it's something we can also take heart and take heed. As we go into this week. The word love in and of itself has been so convoluted and taken down. Like even think about this. The word love is the same word that we can use to define our love for our children and our spouse in the same word that we use to define chicken in our favorite sports teams. The word love has been so twisted and so taken across language and taken across so much that we can use love to define so much. So much so that so many of us find affirmation in the fact that sometimes we're liked on Facebook and sometimes we're loved. Love has been dumbed down. It's been taken and ripped apart and been given back to us. And so one of the issues we have with love, and for all of us, even at the sound of my voice, is love becomes difficult because of the pictures of the people in our minds that have shown us good love and those who've shown us bad love. Whether it's relationships, whether it's parents or loved ones or uncles or aunties. Love is a very interesting word. And I want to challenge you to go into this week being people who love. How can I do that? I want you to love based upon the most genuine picture of love that you know. I want you to consider an individual in your life because oftentimes it's not a thing that happened as a person that happened. I want you to think about an individual in your life who showed you an amazing, genuine, purpose filled love that every time you were in their presence, every time you were around them, they gave you something. They poured into your wells from their deep wells. They left you full. You looked forward to being near them because you knew the love you would receive. For those of you, maybe you can't think of a person, you think about the ways that you show love to, I don't know, your favorite car. I want you to think about how you show love to that. What do you do? How do you protect it? How do you cover it? Now what would it look like for you to walk into this week being a person of genuine, full love that you're taking the love you have for your car, you're taking the love that somebody gave to you. When you're deciding to show that love unto other people, I'm gonna be protective. I'm going to cover, I'm going to be purposeful, I'm going to engage, I'm going to call, I'm going to explain. I'm going to be present. I'm going to make sure that no one ever leaves my presence feeling down because I'm. Because every person that comes near me, I'm going to love. And I believe that's what Jesus was telling us in Mark 12. Love God with love God and love God the way you love your car with all your heart, your mind, your soul, and start someplace. Love your neighbor with all your heart, mind and soul. Start someplace and love yourself. I want you to go into this week with a powerful love ethic. And in order to do so, I believe we have to take a moment as well and acknowledge the places in our lives where we don't want to love other people. Who is the neighbor that you don't want to love? And the neighbor we don't want to love doesn't have to be dumbed down to just the people who are physically near you. Maybe it's the person who wears tattoos and you refuse to talk to them because you don't like tattoos. Maybe it's the person you went to school with and you refuse to talk to that individual you go to school with. Maybe it's the person you work with and you don't park near them because you know they park in the same spot. Maybe it's somebody you don't even know because a friend told you we don't like them. Now you disrespect them. Where are the places in your life where you can take moments to love yourself? What are the affirmations you're telling yourself in the morning when you look in the mirror and look back at you? What are you saying? Are you looking at a person with grace and victory and power and passion, who has new breath and opportunities and future today? Or are you looking at someone and you're finding every single blemish you're looking saying, I've got bags under my eyes, I haven't lost enough weight and you were speaking hate language instead of speaking love language. And let me tell you what Scripture teaches us is I cannot speak love language onto somebody else. Stop speaking Hate language unto myself. Here's the challenges I want to give you. Number one, I want you to love yourself so fully that you don't even have the language to hate other people this week. I want you to love who God made you to be, who you are in this world, what you're called to do. I want you to love the passions and desires, the ways you look, the ways you are, great grace, the victory you have. I want you to love yourself so fully that there's no room to even let hate be present. I want you to find spaces. My second challenge to you. I want you to find spaces to engage with those individuals that you don't like. You know, the story that's often used in this moment is the story of the Good Samaritan. You know the thing about the Good Samaritan? The Good Samaritan didn't wake up the day that we tell the story of the Good Samaritan. He didn't say, today I'm going to be the Good Samaritan. Today I'm going to be the one that's going to be known as a Good Samaritan. The Good Samaritan got the title of the Good Samaritan because of the ways that he acted. What is the title that your friends and loved ones will give you because of the love that you show to other people? The thing about the Good Samaritan was the brother was broken down, beaten on the side of the road. The Good Samaritan's journey did not stop because he stopped for the brother. He just refused to allow him to be beaten down on the side of the road when the Good Samaritan knew he could help him get to where he needed to be. I hope this week that when you see someone beaten down, a friend beaten down physically, mentally, emotionally, personally, spiritually, you take the time to pick them up, take them to a safe space and keep on going. One of the beautiful things about the Good Samaritan, I believe also is that he acknowledges that he's not the safe space for all people. That doesn't mean he can't show him love. He took him to a doctor, he took him to a space to make sure his wounds were mended, and then the Good Samaritan kept on going because he realized that even after the man is nursed back, he's not there in his love ethic yet. And that's fine. Acknowledge the gaps that you have in your love towards other people and your love towards yourself and the love towards God, and let this week be a week you grow in your love where you love yourself, you love your neighbor, and you acknowledge the gaps you have and the limits you have that prayerfully, God can mend and push you through. This can be and will be your best week. This can be a week where you own a powerful love ethic, where you leave out of this week full of love, where hate isn't even welcome, and you leave out of this week looking forward to opportunities to show love unto other people. Listen to the words of Howard Thurman. Howard Thurman put it like this. He said every man is potentially every other man's neighbor. Neighborliness is non partial and it is qualitative. A man must love his neighbor directly, clearly permitting no barriers between May every single wall in your life be broken down this week and your love ethic, your powerful ability to love can be shown unto others, shown through you that you are the one that others can talk about as a picture of what love and passion and care looks like this week. Being Good Leaders A lot of times, yes, it's the principles, it's the passions, it's the practices, it's the, it's the things that we talk about, it's the ways we lead, it's the hiring, it's the firing, it's the money management. Yes, being a good leader is all of that. But also one of the major things about being a good leader is that the people that you lead can trust that you love them fully, you're there with them fully, and they trust you to make difficult decisions. They trust you to move forward in organization. They trust you even with their livelihood, their passions, their goals. And that comes from an overwhelming, powerful love ethic. May you be a lover this week so that the people you lead can trust you with difficult decisions and trust you to make difficult decisions because they know it's not coming from strategy, it's coming from love. Let's say our affirmations together. Repeat after me if you will say I am me, I can be me and no one will ever stop me from being me. You were made for this. Now go win your Monday. God bless you today.

This has been Made for Mondays with Justin Lester. Be sure to follow Justin online at MrJlester and online at www.jlester.com. see you next week. Go win. You were made for.