I’ve always been fond of the old adage, “you can’t tell what kind of person a child will be from their parents, but you can tell what kind of parents they are from the person the child turns out to be”. It’s the rare case, and usually a touching story about someone else who took a child under their wing, that a good kid didn’t have good parents. I am always amazed at the parenting that I know must have happened when I see a kid who is beyond their years in respect, discipline and positive attitude. That stuff just doesn’t just happen. It gets ingrained. The same can be said of teams in business. Teams don’t just become highly aligned and productive on their own. They get that way because there is a boss who is behind the scenes setting the right goal and pace and providing strong support systems. The boss is a coach, mentor and barrier remover. The alignment of the team comes from a stitching together of people and recognizing complementary skills and needs and finding how to have people play off of each others’ strengths and weaknesses. When a team or person is well coached, cared for and mentored, it shows. The same can be said about us in how closely we are allowing our work and lives to be led by our faith. James said in James 2:18, “Now someone may argue, ‘Some people have faith; others have good deeds.’ I say, ‘I can’t see your faith if you don’t have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds.” James is saying that what we do shows who we are and why we do it shows through what we do. Today, are you showing what you want to show by your deeds and actions? Would others know that those actions come from a place of faith and love of our Lord? We are God’s Children and for us to portray His image in the way He wants, we must be sure that our deeds and faith are consistent, every day. We must show up in the way of the Lord!

Reference: James 2:18 (New Living Testament)