I read an article recently that was interviewing some top business leaders. It was asking them for tips on how they lead well and continue to perform well after their businesses have been established over the course of time. One of them mentioned how former British Prime Minister Tony Blair had told him, ‘My life became so much better, easier and so much more effective when I realized one truth. And that’s every decision divides.’
For some reason that has stuck with me this past week. Every decision divides. It’s so true, isn’t it? This is particularly true in the case of a prime minister or really any politician for that matter. It really applies to just about anyone who is in a position of leadership though.
If you’re a teacher and you’re trying to steer a class of 20 students towards a path of learning, you will inevitably make some decisions that divide. There’s always that one kid that doesn’t want to do work, no matter how good of a teacher you are. I remember having a 5 year old one year who said, “Mr. Hemming, I can’t do it.” It didn’t matter what I asked her to do, that was her ready-made response.
If you’re a principal or district superintendent, every decision you make will divide teachers either for you or against you. If you’re a CEO of a company, your decisions will divide your workers at some level.
That is why it’s so crucial to seek out God’s wisdom in our lives. It’s wise to also seek the counsel of others and is even biblical. There will come times though in everyone’s life when your trusted counselors are telling you things that are exactly the opposite of one another.
It is necessary and ‘best-practice,’ to use a teaching term, to live for the approval of God and not for the approval of man. Man’s approval is so fleeting, right? Who hasn’t experienced that at some level? If we’re determined to try and live up to the expectations others have of us ultimately it will handicap us.
When we live for God, we live an undivided life. It isn’t going to make everyone happy of course, but at least your own life won’t be divided up and you’ll be able to sleep at night.
On a personal level, it brings to mind the idea of opportunity cost. If you spend your time doing A, you won’t be able to spend your time doing B. A decision to not delegate more of your work load will result in you having to cut time away from your family. A decision to go to college will take away more time for work for a few years.
Decisions divide at just about every level of society. This is why it is crucial to have a guiding center for all of your life’s activities. My center is Christ because that’s the only thing that makes sense to me.
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