The Inspired Leader: 101 Biblical Reflections for Becoming a Person of Influence (18 page)

Clemens’ biographer notes, that “Henry’s death closed a door in Samuel Clemens’s heart for the rest of his life” (Ron Powers,
Mark Twain: A Life,
89). He notes, “Now his skepticism regarding the Christian faith hardened into non-belief, and he embarked on a lifetime of guilt over his role in guiding his brother toward his doom, a guilt compounded by the excruciating luck of his own survival.” Though he became a popular humorist, sorrow always lay just below the surface throughout Clemens’ life.

One of life’s great certainties, widely ignored or defiantly denied, is that every person you meet, including yourself, will one day die. Indeed, every day of life we enjoy is a gift from our Creator (Psalm 139:16). The biblical character Job had a realistic perspective on life, “
Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord”
(Job 1:21). Job understood that each day of life, and each relationship we enjoy, are gifts from God. Nevertheless, everything eventually comes to an end. As the writer of Ecclesiastes notes,
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die”
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-2). Life has its seasons when relationships and activities in our life are birthed, and other seasons when they draw to an end. Such are the seasons of life.

So how do we live our lives? With gusto! We embrace each day as if it is our last. We savor relationships, never knowing if we will have a further opportunity in this life to enjoy them. We seek to invest our lives in eternity, because it is only those investments that will follow us to heaven.

Samuel Clemens became fixated on the loss of his brother, rather than on the gift of his family. He continually asked why God had taken, without rejoicing that God had first given. He also refused to surrender his soul to the God who would one day draw all of history to a close and gather every saint together to enjoy eternal bliss. Clemens chose to judge God from his own human perspective, rather than seeking to understand the ways of God.

Some people squander great portions of their lives, mourning what they have lost. It could be a position, or an investment, or a relationship, or an opportunity. They can’t let it go. It haunts them and saps their joy. Others accept the hardships of life along with the good. In times of loss they weep. But then they enthusiastically embrace the next opportunity or relationship or activity that God brings along. Life is far too brief to waste it wondering what might have been! Life does have hardships. But they are in part what make its joys so sweet. So how are you living your life? Plan to get the absolute most out of today, and each day that follows.

REFLECT FOR A MOMENT

1. How have you handled death and loss? Have they made you bitter? Have they tempted you to question God? Or, have they caused you to appreciate life and what God has given, even more?
   

2. Are you carrying any bitterness or cynicism with you from the past? Have you allowed previous experiences to rob you of your joy? Do you need to do as the apostle Paul and “forget” what lies behind, and press on to what God has for you in the future? Take an inventory of your life to see if anything in your past is harming your present. Then ask the Lord to set you free from it.
   

3. Are you living your life with gusto? Do you savor each day God grants you? Or, are you living with resentment and sadness? Take time with God to consider the amazing gift that each day of life is. Reflect on what God has given you, rather than on what has been lost. Make a list of things in your life for which you are (or should be) grateful. Take time to thank God for His goodness, today.
   

USA TODAY
REPORTED that the percentage of American soldiers unfit for active combat had risen sharply (
USA Today,
3 March 2010). In 2008, up to 16% of the soldiers in some brigades were considered ineligible for battle. Between 2006 and 2008, bad backs, strained knees, and other ailments increased from 1.4 million to 1.9 million. Cases involving mental health rose from 657,144 to 1.1 million. Today, when a unit is deployed into a combat zone, many of its soldiers are left behind or relegated to non-combative tasks. An army with the illusion of possessing the necessary assets to properly engage the enemy may in fact have insufficient field strength to conduct critical operations. How frustrating it is for a general to issue marching orders only to be informed that 16% of his troops are unfit for battle!

In a notorious encounter during WWII the not-so-politically correct General George S. Patton visited a field hospital in Italy. He encountered a serviceman who had no bandages or obvious physical wounds. When Patton asked the soldier why he was hospitalized, he was told it was for battle fatigue. The famous general flew into one of his infamous rages, cursing the patient for choosing the safe comfort of a hospital while his comrades were facing enemy bullets. Patton was severely reprimanded for his breach in protocol, to say nothing of his blatant lack of bedside manner. Patton had no patience for those he suspected of avoiding battle. He knew such conduct could cost others.

We are called by God to serve on a spiritual battlefield. The apostle Paul used an extended military metaphor as he exhorted the faithful in Jesus Christ to ready themselves for warfare against the forces of darkness (Ephesians 6:10-18). The
belt of truth
encircles a warrior and holds the armor in place. The
breastplate of righteousness
covers the heart. The Bible repeatedly warns us to guard our heart—leaving it vulnerable is lethal. Our feet are to be shod with the
Gospel of peace
. Too many of Christ’s soldiers have gone lame and are unprepared for deployment.

The
shield of faith
protects us from enemy blows. Roman shields often functioned in an interlocking manner, so as soldiers stood in rank with their shields locked together, arrows and missiles could not find an opening to hit their mark. Believers in the marketplace can find themselves in a fierce, take-no-prisoners spiritual conflict. Only by linking their shields of faith with other believers can they withstand the enemy’s barrage. When our faith grows weak, others protect our flank. The
helmet of salvation
protects the head. From the moment of salvation, as a new creation, you no longer have to allow the world’s thinking and values to control yours. Paul warned God’s people to be wary of how damaging a worldly mindset is, and to protect themselves from adopting a godless worldview. Finally, the
sword of the Spirit
is the word of God and our greatest weapon. Unfortunately many busy professionals neglect this piece of armor, the only one designed not only for protection but also for penetrating the enemy’s defense. If the bugle sounded today summoning us to fall into ranks, some of us would be hard-pressed to
find
our sword!

What spiritual battles are you fighting? What missiles are being fired in your direction? Are you linking with others for the inevitable assaults that will come?

REFLECT FOR A MOMENT

1. Do you feel like you are experiencing spiritual warfare when you go to work? In what ways are you undergoing conflict?
   

2. List each piece of armor described in Ephesians chapter six. Evaluate how firmly each one is in place in your life. Do you have armor that is missing or inadequate for a serious conflict? If so, what do you need to do to be better prepared?
   

3. Have you experienced defeat in spiritual conflicts in which you have already been engaged? If so, what was the result? Has it wounded you? Have you become intimidated by the enemy? Have you lost respect from others? Take time with the Lord and let Him bandage, heal, and restore you so you are fully prepared for the next engagement you face.
   

WILMER MCLEAN, A retired major from the Virginia militia, was a wholesale grocer at the outbreak of the American Civil War. McLean’s home, the Yorkshire Plantation, was located in Manassas in Prince William County, Virginia. During the battle of Bull Run on July 18, 1862, Confederate General Beauregard used McLean’s house for his headquarters. At one point a Union cannonball fell through the kitchen fireplace causing a great commotion. McLean had no desire to live in a battle zone and subsequently relocated his home 120 miles south to the remote hamlet of Appomattox. Three years later, on April 9, 1865, cornered by General Grant’s troops, General Robert E. Lee officially surrendered his army. Ironically the end of the war took place in the parlor of McLean’s new home. McLean observed, “The war began in my front yard and ended in my front parlor.” Sometimes, despite our best efforts to avoid it, war finds us.

The apostle Paul warned, “
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand”
(Ephesians 6:12-13). We often think of Satan and his dominions having their headquarters in hell. But hell is not their domain. They dread that place for it is the prison God has prepared for Satan’s everlasting punishment after he is finally vanquished (Revelation 20:10). It is the earth upon which Satan wages his desperate, evil battles against God’s people. Scripture calls Satan “
the prince of the power of the air”
and
“the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience”
(Ephesians 2:2). We live and work in the midst of a battlefield. And, like Wilmer McLean discovered, there is no place for us to comfortably sit out the war and avoid the tumult. Spiritual battles inevitably come.

How does spiritual warfare assault you? It happens when you are bombarded with criticism for functioning in the marketplace according to your Christian principles. It occurs during moments of temptation in the office or on business trips. It manifests itself through crises in your family or opposition from your boss or betrayal from colleagues or through illness that weakens you physically. Beware: the powers of darkness do not sit idly by while you seek to honor God in your life and professional career. Satan is a cunning and sinister general who relentlessly wages war against God’s kingdom. His armory is stocked with innumerable stratagems and weapons. God’s people must remain on constant alert (1 Peter 5:8).