Most Likely To... Week 3

Great leaders choose integrity.

Welcome back to the third week in our series Most Likely To . . ., through which we're discovering what it really means to be a leader.

Tonight, we want to crown someone as "Most Likely to Succeed." Let's see who can succeed!

For this activity, I need some of you to blow balloons. Your challenge is to keep their balloons in the air by hitting them. The last person standing wins. If your balloon touches the ground, anyone else's balloon touches someone, or you talk, you must sit down. If you look anyone in the eyes, or accidentally touch another contestant, you both sit down.

How tempting was it to cheat during this game?

Maybe you wanted to keep going after someone's balloon touched you.

Perhaps you looked at someone, and you both pretended you didn't.

Big, small, and even seemingly insignificant decisions all matter. In the same way, our choices can affect our leadership.

When we aren't honest, it can cause a teacher to lose trust in us, parents to question us when we tell them where we are going, or even friendships to deteriorate.

How can we be known as a leader who can be trusted when our choices don't match up with who we say we are or what we value?

Cutting corners and bending the truth can help save time and may even help us get ahead, but it can damage our relationships and makes us question the trust within our friendships.

Scripture points out incredible wisdom for us to learn what it means to lead in ways that build trust rather than destroy it.

[TRANSITION]

We've met a couple of leaders in the Bible over the last few weeks. Today, we're going to meet another one — the Apostle Paul.

To the Early Church, Paul was someone to steer clear of, but he later had an encounter with God that changed everything for him.

He became one of the church's most influential early leaders.

You can imagine this was a pretty wild journey. Paul went from someone who sought to persecute Christians to being someone Jesus' followers trusted.

Can you imagine how Paul's decisions and the way he caused pain in the past affected his relationships with other people who were following Jesus?

Imagine how much energy and time it would take to rebuild trust. Paul eventually joined a small community of Jesus' followers in modern-day Greece and said this:

Philippians 4:8–9 (CSB)

8 Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Paul's life was so different from what it had been like before, and Paul was so consistent with this church community that the people trusted his actions more than they did his words alone — so much that he could say, "Watch and learn from my life!" Anyone can say they've changed, but the only way someone would believe leaders like Paul is if they saw a difference in how his actions lined up with his words.

Paul's actions matched his words, showing us what great leadership looks like.

He regularly and consistently lived out the things he believed in every part of his life.

As he lived with integrity, he earned the trust of the people he used to want to harm. This was a crucial part of earning trust.

Scripture encourages us to be someone who lives out the good, beautiful, and noble things we say we believe not only when we're alone but also when we're with a small group of trusted friends and family and when we live our lives publicly, like at work or school.

This was how Paul modeled what it means to live with integrity.

We're invited to do the same and lead in a way that reflects who we are. As we do this, we become leaders with integrity — leaders people can trust.

[BOAT ILLUSTRATION]

If I asked you to take a ride in this boat, would you?

Maybe you'd say, "Sure! It looks stable!" Well, can I ask you a few questions?

Do you know who made this boat?

Do you know if it was made well?

Have you seen anyone ride in this boat before?

Why would you trust this boat to hold you when you don't know who made it, its quality, or if it will safely help you navigate those seemingly calm waters?

Almost all of us would trust this boat to hold us. If you've ever gotten into a boat, you know that you likely wouldn't rigorously test it before taking it out into the water. It would be silly to spend more time testing the boat than using it. If we had this much skepticism, we wouldn't experience the fun we could have actually aboard the boat.

So why do we trust it?

Well, most of us have experienced a boat whose structure has the integrity to hold us as we go out into the water.

This is kind of crazy to think about because when you're in a boat, water is constantly trying to get in.

While in the boat, the person steering keeps watch through careful navigation and is aware of the possibility that the boat's integrity might be compromised.

[TRANSITION]

Our leadership should be like this boat.

Scripture invites us to be trustworthy in our leadership because, in our lives, the things we value are apparent to those around us.

There are profound benefits when we lead with integrity, and when we don't, we are like a boat whose integrity has been compromised and is taking on water.

Proverbs 11:3 (CSB)

3 The integrity of the upright guides them,

but the perversity of the treacherous destroys them.

This verse contrasts two ideas, saying that when we change how we act depending on our environment in ways that conflict with what we value, we are choosing the opposite of integrity.

Will you be physically destroyed for being dishonest? Probably not.

Will people question if they can trust you and your leadership? Probably.

I imagine we've all experienced someone who's kind to someone else in person, yet the moment they leave the room, they start talking about them behind their back.

Do you trust they aren't doing the same to you?

We don't want to be friends — much less led by — people who say one thing to your face but then another when you're not around.

On the flip side, if we are people who live with integrity — people who attempt to live in the good, beautiful, and noble things we say we believe in all areas of our lives — we can expect to have tools that help guide us through life.

Committing to being the same person, whether alone or surrounded by others, has a lasting impact on your leadership, friendships, and future.

When we become people who follow through on what God calls us to be about, the next step is to learn how to do that in every place we lead.

Followers of Jesus value follow through on what God asks of us and choose to lead with love.

Whether we're by ourselves, with close friends, or leading in public, we make a choice to live out those values. As we do this, we live out the truth that great leaders choose integrity.

[CONCLUSION]

At times, we might miss the opportunity to live with integrity, but when this happens, we can attempt to make it right. So, when it comes to living with integrity, here are three simple ways you can do that:

ASK FOR GOD'S HELP: We can't be dependable and trustworthy leaders on our own. The greatest leaders in Scripture leaned on God's guidance. Every week, we've talked about how great leadership depends on staying connected to God. This week, spend time with God in prayer and discover passages in Scripture that help you become a leader who follows through on what they promise. Ask God how you can be faithful and follow through.

INVITE OTHERS' HELP: Let other people in on how you are choosing integrity. Share with them and celebrate your ability to follow through on your promises. This could be with a mentor or a close friend that you trust. Integrity includes how you are living with people close to you, so be honest with trusted friends who can encourage you to be a leader who chooses integrity.

KEEP GOING: In the Bible, you'll see that so many leaders failed and made mistakes. We will, too! We won't always be the most trustworthy or dependable leaders. So if you mess up, own up to it, tell someone you trust, and ask them to help you learn how to follow through. Can you try that this week?