1 Peter 5:8
James 1:13,14
James 1:6; 3:4,5
1 Corinthians 10:13
1 Peter 5:6
So long as we live on this earth we cannot escape suffering and temptation. That’s why it says in Job: "The life of a person on earth is restlessness, disquiet and anger.” (Job 3:26). So be diligent to guard against temptation and consistently use prayer! Otherwise, the devil (who never sleeps) but goes about seeking all leaders and structures, may devour you (1 Peter 5:8).
No leader or institution is perfect. They are all sometimes tempted. And thus not free from the temptations of our own or another’s making.
Yet temptations, though troublesome and severe, are often useful. Because in troubles and temptations, we begin to see God clearer by becoming a humbler, purer, and more well-instructed versions of ourselves. It’s always been that way: the great saints of history have all passed through temptations and trials to their eventual profit (Hebrews 11), while those who could not resist fell away.
There is no state so holy, no organization so secret, that temptations and trials will not come. People and leadership structures are never safe from them as long as they exist. That’s because they come quietly from within (James 1:13,14). Begging us to go to the right or left from what is true, right, and appropriate. And then when one temptation or trial passes, another comes. Its like spiritual water torture. So you see, we shall always have something to suffer through because we have lost the beautiful state of our original creation (Genesis 3).
Many people try to escape temptations altogether and find themselves only falling deeper. Because fleeing is not the total answer. Its only the first part. We cannot conquer simply by running away all by itself. The person who only flees temptations outwardly and does not get to the root cause will make little progress. Often, those temptations will quickly return, more violent than before. So be understanding toward others. Do not be harsh with others who are tempted, but console them as you yourself would wish to be consoled.
The other part of handling temptation is to deal with your own mind. Slowly and methodically, through patience and true humility with the help of God, we can become mentally stronger than all our temptations whose root is a fickle mind and small trust in God. For as a rudderless ship is driven off course by waves (Ephesians 4:7), so a casual and mentally irresolute person is tempted in many ways (James 1:6; 3:4-5).
As fire tempers iron so temptation solidifies the faithful person. You may think this too difficult to withstand, or perhaps even unfair, but temptation shows us what we truly are- deep down.
Above all, leaders must be especially alert against the beginnings of temptation: refuse its personal or organizational admittance through the door of your mind and challenge it at the door when it knocks.
Someone once appropriately said: "Resist the beginnings because remedies come too late, for providing a long delay will allow evil to gain strength." The pattern is like this:
- First, a mere thought comes to mind,
- Then strong imagination follows.
- Then imagination gives way to a wrongly placed pleasure,
- And that grow to delight in the evil in which guilt of the activity fades, and finally
- Consent for the activity both now and in the future.
It's obvious then. By not resisting in the beginning, Satan gains full entry. And the longer a leader delays ‘putting their foot down’ and resisting, the weaker you become even while the strength of evil grows.
Temptation is a shapeshifter. It comes in different ways and times; especially to leaders. Some Christ followers suffer great temptations in the beginning of their faith lives, others toward the end, while some are troubled almost constantly throughout their lives. Others, again, are tempted but lightly. But don’t be discouraged. It is all under the watchful eye of God. Nothing, not even evil is out of his purview (Job 1, 2). He weighs the status and merit of each person and prepares all things for the salvation of His elect.
So don’t give up. Leaders should not despair when they are tempted. Pray to God with great fervor that He will help you. As the New Testament writer Paul wrote: “All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.” (1 Cor 10:13 The Message).
Let us place our souls in the hand of God (1 Peter 5:6). This is good for leaders to do In every trial and temptation for He will save and exalt the humble. In temptations and trials, the progress of a person is measured; in them, opportunity for merit and virtue is made more possible. And although it seems easy to trust in God when all things in life are going smoothly, know that when things are trying, if you bear patiently in times of adversity, there is great hope for tremendous progress.
But know, all the time, that the impact of small temptations can become humbling even for those who have conquered large temptations. Be diligent!
Illustrative Story: Courtesy, in part, to the Globe and Mail, Feb 1, 2011
In 2008, Maple Leaf Foods of Toronto had a disaster on its hands after an outbreak of the listeria bacteria in some of its packaged meat products.
Lunchmeat manufactured and packaged in Toronto under the Burns and Maple Leaf brands was infected, and there were nine confirmed and 11 suspected deaths attributed to eating the tainted meat. Others who ate the meat but recovered are still putting their lives back together, as are friends and families of all those affected.
But what is a company to do if illness or death is clearly caused by consumers eating or using your products? Do you deny everything and let the lawyers fight it out in court for a decade, hoping that the survivors will run out of gas and money? Do you spin, weave, dodge or bob around the issue and use every procedural roadblock under the sun to avoid legal liability in hopes of saving the brand's reputation? Do you blame the victims, the doctors, or the inspection agency charged with ensuring the safety of your product?
Typical corporate behaviour had long been to protect share price and admit nothing. Apologize for nothing. But that was not the way of CEO Michael McCain who almost single-handedly forced a different path.
Maple Leaf Foods chose not to listen to its lawyers. It saved the company.
It apologized. It admitted it was the company's fault. It admitted it was responsible. It said, in essence, "it's our fault and we're going to fix it."
Maple Leaf apologized. It wasn't "wordsmithed" or spin-doctored to deny culpability. The company didn't dodge the issue. It apologized up front in every possible media.
It didn't hire a celebrity to deliver the apology, or a blonde actress with very white teeth wearing a lab coat. CEO Michael McCain was the voice and the face of the crisis, and of the apology.
And once Maple Leaf realized the problem was the company's fault, it acted decisively, and transparently. It recalled more than 200 packaged meat brands (amounting to tens of thousands of individual packages) that were manufactured or packaged at the affected plant. And more.
Instead of a potential loss and eventual closure Maple Leaf Foods is now a 4 billion dollar revenue company (2021)
