It’s almost Christmastime. Wow, has this year flown by!
Christmastime always gives me pause. I find this time of year is an excellent time to reflect on what’s come and what is to come.
It doesn’t hurt that it’s also the end of the year. Only one more week until we’re in a new year.
But I’m getting ahead of myself here.
Photo by Gareth Harper on Unsplash
I want to talk about Christmas. There’s so much to unpack with Christmas, especially if you’re a Christian.
There’s also a lot to learn about leadership through the Christmas story…
5 Leadership Lessons From Christmas
The Biblical Christmas story can be found in two key pieces of scripture: Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2. These Bible passages give us how Christ was born and what it truly means.
From these pieces of scripture, you can find deep leadership meaning if you look.
1. Leaders accept hard things:
Mary and Joseph were not married when Mary miraculously conceived Jesus. Being unwed was a major taboo in Biblical times. In fact, Mary could’ve been stoned to death because of an unwed pregnancy.
Instead, Joseph chose to stay with Mary. He would raise Jesus as his own son.
Staying with Mary would have been extremely difficult in those times.
What difficult or hard things do you need to accept today? Are there challenges that you’re fighting against that may be better off being accepted?
Accept the hard things in your leadership—work toward bringing those hard things to something good.
2. There will be people who get upset over success and good news:
There was good news. Jesus was born. He would be the King of Kings. That’s awesome, right?
Not if you’re King Herod. He heard this news and blew his top. He had children killed and sought the life of Jesus.
He didn’t like the good news. He wanted the information to benefit him.
It didn’t.
Have you experienced this in your business? Good things begin to happen, a positive story breaks… and then people are upset?
Good news can bring out jealousy, envy, and bitterness. You will have to deal with these issues when they arise.
Don’t let the good news or success become bad news.
3. Bad leaders will try to get people to do bad things:
The magi (or wise men) had asked King Herod where the king of Jews had been born. They told him how they had seen his star and had come to worship the new king. Herod found out the general area Jesus had been born. He sent the magi on a mission: Go and search for the child. Report back to me.
Herod played it off as if he wanted to worship Jesus. He didn’t. He wanted to kill him.
Through a dream, the magi realized King Herod had tried to manipulate them into doing something horrible. They decided to head back to their countries through a different route.
Be careful of bad leaders. They’re out there. They’re looking out for their own needs and desires.
Let’s not be like these leaders. Instead, seek out truth, fairness, and justice.
4. Good news can be scary:
Imagine being Mary. You’re a young woman, unmarried, and an angel visits you.
The angel tells you that you are pregnant. You’re going to give birth to a baby boy.
Uhhhh…
That’s scary news for someone young and unwed. Especially in those days.
Yet, the news was truly good news. Through Mary, a savior would be born.
You have to be able to learn how to discern the news you receive. Good news can seem like bad news. Bad news can disguise itself as good news.
Use wise judgment to figure out which is which. Don’t be afraid when good news looks like bad news.
5. Leaders need to be in the right house:
At the end of Luke 2, Jesus was lost. His parents sought him out because he wasn’t where he was supposed to be.
When Jesus was 12 years old, his family made the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Their trip was for the Festival of the Passover. The family left, thinking Jesus was with them. He was not.
Instead, Jesus had stayed behind. He was found in the temple courts by his parents after days of searching. He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them teach. Jesus was also asking questions. When his parents found him, they asked him why he treated them like this. He answered that he had to be in his Father’s house.
Where do you need to be? What house (or organization or school or non-profit) do you need to be in?
Find that place. Be there. Listen and learn. Grow.
You need to be in the right house.
