“But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble.”

By nature of how a business runs, there will be someone at the top of the corporate pyramid who gets to lead, make decisions, and do more of what they want to do than anyone else. It’s called power and it comes with the highest rungs of corporate leadership. But, we know that power can cause some bad things to happen. People who get into a place of power begin to feel as though they have privileges. Back in the day, it started with a key to the corporate washroom. Today, it is corporate jets, special compensation plans, expense accounts, and more than anything else, a freedom that others don’t enjoy. It may sound like I am getting ready to slam those at the top and that the 1% must come down. Not at all. Those at the top, have in most cases, earned every bit of it. They were good, maybe they were lucky, but for sure, they worked hard for where they are and they made some significant sacrifices along they way. But, once at the top, the responsibility of what they have been given and what is required is huge and each of us, in any leadership or supervision position, must be cognizant that we don’t lose perspective. We must remember where we have come from, that we don’t take our position for granted, and that we monitor our actions so that others don’t fall into a shadow of our leadership that is bad for them.

None of us are above it all. God’s expectations of us should be enough to keep us in line, but because we are given the ultimate freedom, the freedom of choice, we can forget that what we are doing and how we work and live can be so influential on others. The world is full of followers and not nearly enough leaders. Followers are impressionable and they evolve, or devolve, into the norm. There is no better societal example of that than fashion. It only takes a walk down the street of any city to see where the fashion is trending. One group of kids who are all wearing the same outfit and you can see how the following occurs. Any of us, regardless of what we do or who we are, have an impression that we make on others each day. We must be cognizant of that impression and ensure that the freedoms that we have and exercise don’t cause others to stumble or fall. Where we are strong, others are weak. Let’s start by thinking of others first, recognizing their weaknesses and then ensuring that we are not allowing ourselves to cause confusion or or stumbling.

Reference: 1 Corinthians 8:9 (New Living Testament)