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Key Bible Verse: Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2). Bonus Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-10

A colleague once told me that he thought the key to our dramatic success was that I had made the university mine, taking personal responsibility for its destiny. Although I understood his sentiment, the freedom and creativity I enjoyed as president was possible precisely because the university belonged to the board of trustees and the church—not to me.

I had the liberty to try things, knowing that if I failed, the board could hire somebody else in my place. That freedom made me a better leader.

I could practice my stewardship of university leadership with a light, creative spirit because I didn't have to bear the ultimate burden of ownership. It wasn't my job to make everything work out. My job was simply to follow the owners' desires.

In a spiritual sense, every event, relationship or decision belongs to God. Practicing God's ownership liberates us for creative leadership. We just lead. All the rest is the Owner's business.

—Richard Kriegbaum in Leadership Prayers

• Do you need to lighten up at work? Rejoice that God's the Owner and he's made you manager.

Thought to Apply:When I set God at the center of my life, I realize vast freedoms and surprising spontaneities. When I center life in my own will, my freedom diminishes markedly. I live constricted and anxious.

—EUGENE PETERSON (writer, Bible translator)

Credits: Adapted from—Friday: Leadership Prayers (Tyndale, 1998)

Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity. For reprint information click here.

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