Page 54 - The Bible On Leadership

Purpose 41

have not deserted any of these purposes, but they consolidated the mis-
sion to focus on the last one, children and families. Of course, they have
not lost sight of the overriding business purpose of the company, which
is to make a high-quality ice cream with a whimsical aura, and to have
fun and make a profit doing it.

ADVERSITY CREATES PURPOSE

In the Bible, no one had harder obstacles to overcome than the proph-
ets and the disciples. The prophets cried out to the larger society when
it was wandering from the path of justice, righteousness, and monothe-
ism and moving toward corruption and idol-worship. The disciples
were spreading the gospel of a man who had been crucified by the
Roman Empire as a traitor and revolutionary, and whose ideas radically
challenged the religious orthodoxy in Jerusalem.
For this very reason, the prophets and disciples needed more strength
of purpose than the average citizen of Palestine, who just ‘‘went with
the trends,’’ whether they were monotheism, idol-worship, or obedi-
ence (feigned or real) to the higher authorities—be they indigenous or
foreign masters. The disciple Paul offers us some stirring examples of
that strength of purpose:

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward
what is ahead, I press on toward the goal. (Phil. 3:12–14)
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting
away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. So we fix our eyes
not on what is seen, but what is unseen . . . We commend ourselves in
troubles, hardships, beatings, and in the good. (2 Cor. 4)
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, how-
ever, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have
been trained by it. Therefore strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.
(Heb. 12:11–12)

The modern leader may not be subjected to bodily harm and threat
of death, as were the prophets and disciples, but there is no shortage of