2 Samuel, Chapter 12,
Verse 18
On the seventh day, the child died. David’s
servants were afraid to tell him that
the child was dead, for they said: “When the child was alive, we spoke to him,
but he would not listen to what we said. How can we tell him the child is dead?
He may do some harm!”
Even today advisers and courtiers
of powerful men and women dread to tell bad news or to tell the unfortunate
truth to their leaders. David has fallen by killing Bathsheba’s husband Uriah
and the child of their unholy union has died. David and even modern leaders
forget the law of sacrifice. The law of the sacrifice is simple: Those leaders
who stop seeking new challenges; stop growing, inevitably stop leading. John Maxwell
states, “When we stop sacrificing, we stop succeeding.”[1]
If you want to become a great leader,
you must be willing to make sacrifices.
1.
There is no success without sacrifice. Every person who
has achieved any success in life has made sacrifices to do so.
2.
Leaders are often asked to give up more than others. Leaders
have to give up their rights. Leaders need to learn how to put others ahead of
themselves. It’s not easy, but you need to give up more than the people you
lead.
3.
You must keep giving up, to stay up. John Maxwell takes
the Law of Sacrifice even further when he states that ‘If leaders have to give
up to go up, then they have to give up even more to stay up’. Today’s success
is the greatest thread to tomorrow’s success. There’s always a cost involved in
moving forward. The day you stop being willing to pay the price is the day when
you stop creating the results you desire.
4.
The higher the level of leadership, the greater the
sacrifice. You’ve probably noticed that the higher the position, the fewer the
number of people able to step in. It’s not because there’s lack of capable
people. It’s simply because there’s not enough people willing to pay the price.
From my childhood I remember learning about the utopia of communism – they
tried to make everybody equal. Everybody should have the same rights and the
same pay. The problem with this is the law of sacrifice. There will always be
some who will be willing to sacrifice more, while others will not be willing to
do anything extra. No philosophy of equality will ever be able to overcome this
mindset. It’s the inner job. You must decide for yourself how much time, effort
or other sacrifice you’re going to assign to a specific job, project or task. The
Law of Sacrifice states that those who do, will go up. And those who continue
doing this, will stay up.[2]
On this Thanksgiving Day
let us be grateful and give thanks to our Heavenly Father, His son Jesus Christ
and for the Holy Spirit that He sends to us; which is the spirit of holy
sacrifice. Let us also give thanks for our families and Nations past sacrifices.
Let us give Thanks; for it is only through sacrifice that we can be truly grateful.
To remain faithful requires sacrifice.
Leaders who follow the law of the sacrifice turn Thanksgetting into Thanksgiving.
Leaders who follow the law of the sacrifice turn Thanksgetting into Thanksgiving.
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