The Cost of Leadership

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13).”On this day we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King. He was a man of conviction and principle and many would suggest he was called to lead. Many people followed him because of his passion and unwillingness to quit that marked the kind of man he was. Was he perfect, no, but he cared, he cared about others. His notable sayings have been studied, recited and passed on by many but his conviction of purpose is what pushed him forward. He was a man of faith and that is what sustained him, his faith in God.It takes a certain mindset to stand on the battlefield fighting for your beliefs. This mindset is rooted in principle, a mission, a cause that someone is willing to die for. Those individuals don’t come often but they are out there.Christ died for all of us even those who didn’t believe in Him and He did it for one reason “LOVE. It was His mission, His purpose, His principle, His passion, and it allowed Him to courageously face death. His last words, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” demonstrate the act of selflessness and love He had for others.Our roles may not be like that of Dr. King or the many who are called in roles of leadership but you can still make an impact by standing courageously and speaking on behalf of those whose voices have been silenced.“The tragedy of life is in what dies inside a man while he lives - the death of genuine feeling, the death of inspired response, the awareness that makes it possible to feel the pain or the glory of other men in yourself.”Norman Cousins-