Why do I mention this? Well, through the 3i Leaders Blog I am looking to provide an evidence based ethical framework and approach to leadership to support those who are in the privileged position of being a leader of others, in taking forward their own leadership development; whether it be at work or at home or in the community.
This week I proposed to the 3i Leader community a code of conduct for adoption by those seeking to become adherents to the 3i Leadership approach. One way that professionals, communities of interest and practitioners of all types assess and challenge their own performance against a range of agreed set down standards is by having a code of conduct.
A code of conduct provides the values and behaviours expected by each of the code's adherents, both of themselves and of each other. It is also a tool to communicate to the wider community and interested parties what can be expected of the code's adherents.
So, I considered that this week's eChurch Generation blog post should suggest a code of conduct that we as spirit filled Christians may choose to adopt as an ''aide memoire'' to assist our navigation through the worldly and spiritual demands each day brings us .
My suggested code of conduct is given in 1 Corinthians 13 and sets out the agreed behaviours Jesus consistently expects from followers, no matter what daunting challenges or provocations they face.
1 Corinthians 13: 4, 5, 6, & 7; ''Charity [love] suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.''
To support the modern day spirit filled Christian's application of the above King James Version (KJV) of the ''code'' I've provided the following summary of more contemporary meanings taken from the original Greek:
- Love is patient, not short-tempered where people are concerned
- Love reacts with goodness to those who ill-treat it
- Love gives itself in kindness to the service of others
- Love does not envy, it is not displeased at the success of others
- Love does not boast
- Love is concerned to give itself, not to assert itself in order to seek out its own advantage
- Love is not rude, indecent, disgraceful or dishonourable
- Love is not self-seeking, does not insist on its own way
- Love is not easily angered, or 'touchy'
- Love does not harbour a sense of injury; it does not record every misdemeanour to be cast up at some future time
- Love takes no joy in evil of any kind, it cannot rejoice when the truth is denied
- Love rejoices in the truth of God and the gospel
- Love protects, it does not give way easily but endures
- Love does not automatically think the worst
- Love is not deceived by the pretences of any rogue, but is always ready to give the benefit of the doubt
- Love is always eager to believe the best, is not gullible, but does not automatically think the worst
- Love refuses to take failure as final
- Love is not overwhelmed, but robustly plays its part whatever the difficulties
John 13: 34 & 35; ''A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.''
On a special and personal family note, the verses from 1 Corinthians 13 are inscribed upon my father-in-law's gravestone, situated within the community which he loved and served in so many ways. His gravestone overlooks the beautiful Loch Linnie set in the midst of God's magnificent and majestic Western Highlands of Scotland.
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