Ridgell's Originals

I think everyone wants to be liked, even those of us who claim it doesn't matter. But it still hurts when people do not like us. I tend to think everyone is my friend and I am surprised if I ever find out someone does not like me. That makes it hard to be an elder sometimes. Elders have to make some hard decisions and -- tho we would certainly never say it this way -- it is hard to make a decision that you think some people will not like. We want to be popular and that makes it very hard to take stands that some will not like. Even if it is good for them, or best for the whole church family. And it is sure hard to confront people on spiritual issues.

We enjoy being trendy. I see things in our church of Christ fellowship that very much become the trendy, popular thing to say or do. We use buzz words that are code for the latest popular position. And if anyone happens to disagree with the latest and greatest trend, then we can dismiss them with a haughty remark about how they are stuck in the past, defending the status quo, don't get it, etc. No one seems to realize that in a couple of years there will be another trendy idea that we must embrace. Trendy ideas may be right ... or they may be wrong.

And we do want to be right. But being right about a decision is not always trendy or popular. So the older I get, the less I care about being popular or trendy. In fact, it may be a sign of maturing leadership that I really don't much care what people think.

So I have come up with my own test to use in making decisions. After every action, or every decision...

Will I be able to look my God in the face, my wife in the eyes, and myself in the mirror? If I can do those things, I made the best decision I could. If I fail any of those -- and no matter how popular I am with anyone else -- I made a bad decision.

So how do you make decisions in your church, or in your family, or at your workplace?