I find that many of us live by double standards. What do I mean by that? I find that sometimes the expectations I have of others is higher than the expectations I have of myself. I expect others to complete things on time and if they do not, they are slacking. If I am late in completing an assignment, it is because of complications in my schedule, my work load is too great, I am losing passion for it, yada, yada, yada. But the reality of this scenario is that I have a higher standard for someone else than I do myself, i.e. double standard.
I can carry that right over into what I consider truth. Truth will not be truth to others if I am not willing to live it as truth for myself. I can teach all day long that we need to be forgiving of others but if I am holding a grudge toward anyone, it will not carry the weight of the spirit and to others it will seem hollow. They may not even know what is wrong, it will just seem hollow and lack the weightiness that truth normally carries, even though it is in fact a truth, just not a truth to me. And if it isn’t a truth to me, forget about it becoming a truth to others. I call that a lack of integrity.
Parents and leaders often make mistakes in this area. We jokingly say, “Do as I say, not as I do!” Ridiculous! Paul said in effect in II Thess 3:7-9, Follow the example that I am setting. May our encouragement be the same. May the truth that you teach be true enough to you that you would walk in it as well. It is one of the most important qualities of leadership.
D.O.V.E.