Torch, Spring 2000

“reasonable” or “sensible.” Cutting corners on quality, taking an extra 20 minutes for lunch, promising product performance that is unlikely—all these things are “normal” in many organizations and seem rather inconsequential if individuals allow standards to fall low enough. A leader’s character is clearly revealed by his or her appetites and passions. In order to know who someone really is, find out what he or she is willing to sacrifice in order to protect something else; determine what he or she is willing to give up in order to satisfy other desires. It is tempting to believe that standing up for what is right will always be rewarded in organizations. Often it is. Sometimes, though, jobs, promotions, and pay raises are lost due to adherence to individual principle. Consistently demanding adherence to high standards of conduct exacts a price. Others may see us as unrealistic, unyielding, and judgmental. We live in an increasingly relativistic world where high standards are as likely to be greeted with scorn as with praise. The one sure way to consistently seek righteousness in the workplace is to develop an inner drive that seeks fulfillment by accomplishing God’s ends through God’s means. Ultimately we will find ways to satisfy what we hunger for most. Christ promises that the search for righteousness, born of God’s spirit, will result in fulfillment. What the world may ridicule, God rewards. What the world criticizes, God celebrates. Our challenge is to assimilate the four principles taught in this passage into everyday experience as Christian leaders. Assuming attitudes of dependence, sensitivity, submission, and righteousness will certainly set us apart from the norm. But, nowhere in Scripture will you find anything approaching a call to normalcy or conformity to the world’s standards. The clarion of Christ and His Word, rather, is to transformation and distinctiveness. 10 Torch T S haron Johnson, director of graduate programs and professor of management, came to Cedarville in 1993 as chairman of the department of business administration. He earned his D.B.A. in management from Florida State University and taught at Francis Marion College (S.C.) and Baylor University (Texas) before coming to Cedarville. He currently serves as the editor of the Journal of Biblical Integration in Business , sponsored by the Christian Business Faculty Association. Johnson and his wife, Cathy, home school their three children: Andrew, Arielle, and Abigail. The Johnsons are enthusiastic supporters of the Greene County Crisis Pregnancy Center and are actively involved in Washington Heights Baptist Church of Dayton. (continued from page 5) The cultural perception of meekness hardly resembles a positive leadership trait—followers want decisiveness and action. Even if uneasy and uncomfortable with a leader’s style, followers seem to prefer a leader who takes control and makes decisions. Leadership vacuums can create tension that may allow someone with some sort of personal power to be drawn in to fill that void. The problem is that the cultural perception of meekness is inaccurate. Humility and submissiveness are not signs of weakness at all. They are, rather, evidence of an equal measure of strength and self-restraint. Someone once described meekness as “strength under control.” Submission to God’s leadership allows us to be leaders with an impact for Christ. Matt. 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Leaders who have an impact for Christ are compelled by an inner drive to demand, of themselves first but of others also, right attitudes and behavior. The inner drive of Christian leaders to insist on right attitudes and behavior is not some self- willed enthusiasm—it is an appetite for righteousness springing from the work of the Holy Spirit. The hunger for righteousness begins with a willingness to appraise our attitudes and conduct from God’s perspective. It is all too easy to lower our standards to the level of our conduct. Convenience and advantage conspire to make lowering standards seem