We are all well aware of the fact that there are many bones in our bodies. Recently I read about three of them from Reba McEntire.
She said, “To be successful you need a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.”
I saw this as both amusing and instructive. Let’s take these three bones and address each of them from a leadership perspective
1. A WISHBONE WILL ENABLE US TO DREAM BOLDLY
Years ago, J. B. Phillips wrote a book titled Your God Is Too Small.
Sadly, that is the case for many leaders. The problems & obstacles are big and their view of God & his power is small. Every good leader worth his salt is a dreamer who is trusting God and believing God for the impossible. The key is not going to God and telling him how big your problems are but going to your problems and telling them how big your God is. The Bible and history are full of leaders stepping out and trying to accomplish the improbable, impossible, unusual, unlikely, unthinkable and unimaginable. Ephesians 3:20 clearly instructs us that this is the kind of God we serve: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.” The Message has it: “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!”
All leaders need a wishbone!
2. A BACKBONE WILL ENABLE US TO IMPLEMENT FEARLESSLY
There is a great deal of fear among leaders. We fear failure. We fear embarrassment. We fear pushback. We fear people leaving. We fear making a horrible decision. We fear looking foolish.
Fear holds us back. “The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that.” Proverb 29:25 (The Message).
The next time I’m tempted to park in a disabled spot, I’m going to do it and then tell the officer handing me the ticket that I am “disabled” because of fear! Think it will work?
We need to ask God for ideas and then step out in faith, pull the trigger and implement fearlessly, consistently and faithfully when we get those ideas. We can easily fall into the trap of the “paralysis of analysis” by trying to predict what people will think about us if we do this or that. The fact of the matter is that most people aren’t thinking about us at all. They’re too busy thinking about themselves.
All leaders need a backbone!
3. A FUNNY BONE WILL ENABLE US TO LAUGH HEARTILY
Proverb 17:22 tells us that laughter is good medicine. Many leaders don’t laugh enough–especially at themselves. I am the chief of sinners in this regard!
Life and leadership weighs us down and we miss out on good healthy belly laughs. There’s a reason that Comedy Central and Saturday Night Live are so popular.
I don’t believe I’ve seen a scientific survey on this, but I’m going to wager that those leaders who laugh the most lead the longest.
I just googled and found this:
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
Science has finally caught up with these words in the Bible that King Solomon wrote some 3,000 years ago.
The following report is from The Week magazine: “Laughter is good for your health—and now scientists know why. Researchers at the University of Maryland found that when 20 healthy volunteers smiled and guffawed while watching the comedy Kingpin, their blood flow increased by 22 percent–about the same increase caused by aerobic exercise. But when volunteers watched tension-filled scenes from Saving Private Ryan, their blood flow decreased 35 percent.
“The researchers say that laughing apparently causes the endothelium, the tissue that lines blood vessels, to expand, which increases blood flow. Laughter may also improve arterial health by reducing mental stress, which constricts vessels and cuts blood flow. A healthy lifestyle—researcher Michael Miller tells New Scientist—would include 30 minutes of exercise three times a week, and 15 minutes of hearty laughter each day.”
All leaders need a funny bone!
So there you have it! How are you doing in “Your Bones?”
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