Leaders who have failed in life have one thing in common. No it's not lack of education, or certain skills, or charisma or drive. It's their failure to lead at home before they took the lead in the marketplace of ministry.
More and more nowadays we hear news of divorces among leaders. That's because many leaders today make the resolve to build empires, companies, organisations, and even ministries at the expense of their own home and family. Is this the way God would have things? Are we really to choose to sacrifice family for the sake of occupational success?
God's way is completely different. Speaking on church leadership, Paul was very specific that deacons and overseers of the church were to put a value on family over anything else in this world. Twice he wrote to two different leaders of the same qualification, meaning the expectation was and still is universal.
1 Timothy 3:4 says, "He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive."
Titus 1:6 says, "If anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. "
This is not just limited to ministerial leadership. There is so much reason to believe that the same values are to apply even in marketplace leadership. Just as our spiritual leaders set the example for us all to value the home over the office, we are to follow that example and walk in godly priorities, putting our families before our vocations.
Why is it so important to value the home over occupational success? Think of it this way: On the day you lie on your deathbed, who would you rather have around you? Your colleagues? Your employees? Your financial advisors? I believe that most generally we would want to have our families with us.
Family, not the office place, is the basic unity of society. That's because you can be called to different vocations and to start various ventures in your life, but God will always want you to only have one family here on earth.
The one thing that will make any leader fail is for him to neglect the home for the sake of a ministerial or vocational call. That's not how God would have us do things. His way is always to put premium on the home and let our professions come only after that.
Let's make the resolve today to become leaders in our fields, yes, but to never sacrifice family for the sake of net worth or market share. You can always have another job, but family will be family until the day you die.
