In today’s podcast, I want to show us something very important that has been titled: Fusing Spiritual Fruit into Organizational Life and Leadership: An Integrated Approach. We want to examine how the fruit of the Spirit can find expression in organizational life and leadership and how it can help promote healthy organization growth and interactions among employees and the organization’s leadership. This is what the integrated approach talks about. Now, in Galatians 5:22-23, the Bible says: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Let us examine these words one after the other and see how they can play out within any type of organization.
Listen to Podcast: Fusing Spiritual Fruit Into Organization Life and Leadership
Love: How does love impact the life of the organization and its leadership? How does love bring about healthy organizational growth and interactions among employees and organizational leadership? These are the vital questions that are raised here. Now, love is one of the vital tools that shape any work environment. Imagine finding yourself in an organization where everyone is toxic towards one another, beginning from the leader down to the employees, how would such organization ever make progress? Imagine an organization where there is no trust, there is no compassion, how would creativity ever be encouraged in such a working environment? Jesus taught His disciples this vital tool of love in John 13:35. It says: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” meaning that the love must emanate from within and among them. So, Jesus encouraged His disciples to allow love to find expression among them so that people can know that they are His disciples. For any organization to thrive in harmony, there must be love within that organization.
Joy: There is a direct correlation between employee productivity and the fruit of joy. When organizations create an atmosphere that fosters joy, it brings about organizational fruitfulness and growth. In Colossians 3:22-23 (TPT), the Bible says: “Let every employee listen well and follow the instructions of their employer, not just when their employers are watching, and not in pretense, but faithful in all things. For we are to live our lives with pure hearts in the constant awe and wonder of our Lord God. 23Put your heart and soul into every activity you do, as though you are doing it for the Lord himself and not merely for others.” It then means that when you put your heart and soul into any activity, there is this joy that it brings because you are finding fulfillment in that thing. So, when a joyful atmosphere exists within an organization, it creates room for people to pour themselves into such organization. It is as simple as that.
Peace: It has been proven that environments where there is peaceful coexistence, growth is usually inevitable in such environment. When there is peaceful coexistence among employees of an organization and their leaders, the resultant effect of that would be growth. In Psalms 133:1-3, the Bible says: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren (employees and their leaders, the team and their leaders, the followers and their leaders) to dwell together un unity (agreement, harmony, accord, unison, union)! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments, it is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing — Life forevermore.”
Longsuffering: Another word for longsuffering is patience. Patience is the ability to tolerate one another in the work place without getting angry or embittered by the actions of others. The question is: how do you demonstrate patience in the work place? It starts by being empathetic towards one another and sometimes offering to help. If you read Galatians 6:2 (AMPC), Paul said: Bear (endure, carry) one another’s burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it]. This is how to practice patience in the work place. Try as much as possible to understand what your colleagues are going through before judging them, try to know what your leader is going through before judging him or her. This is how to be empathetic and show patience in the organization.
Kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness: are almost saying the same thing. The work-place culture must include kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness. Now, if you carefully look at the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, you will discover that it epitomizes all these traits. Generation upon generation of Jesus’ followers have demonstrated these attributes, and that is why you see the ministry that Jesus began still growing till this present day. This is the secret of that growth. If you want your organization and leadership to be talked about 2 millenniums from now, then you must integrate these traits into your organizational life and leadership. It is very important.
Self-control: Self-control talks about the ability to remain calm even under intense provocation. Organizational excesses are curbed through resource control, and likewise, employees’ excesses are curbed through self-control. Jesus gave us an example of this in Luke 9:51-56. It says:
“Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.”
Every employee must learn the art of self-control. Leaders must learn the art of self-control as well. This would go a long way in bringing long lasting growth into the organization and its leadership.
Alright. I believe you have learnt something on today’s episode of Leaderview. This is where we are going to be drawing the curtains today. Please don’t forget to share this podcast and also drop your comments in the comment section below. Till next time on Leaderview, I remain Abiola Obayomi. Thank you.
Article Source: [Centre for New Dimension Leadership]
