What do you do when faced with difficulties? Examining the life of President Harry S. Truman, we discover that he was thrust into the presidency virtually overnight and had to start making difficult decisions immediately. Truman faced decisions about ending World War II, desegregating the military, the spread of Communism, and many other issues at home and internationally.
As leaders, you, too, will face great challenges—fortunately not to the degree that President Truman had to endure—but they will be about issues and problems not of your making. You will have to make important choices about things beyond your control. Your choices will be influenced by your morals.
It is paramount that leaders behave ethically. Ethics are the values and morals that guide our behavior. As author Peter Northouse notes, ethical issues are always present in decision-making. They influence the choices leaders make and how we respond in any given circumstance.
The Bible condemns those who subvert ethics by calling good evil and evil good and says that “right belief must express itself in right action.” Clearly, it matters immensely to God that leaders believe rightly and live rightly.
When facing a difficult situation, everyone regardless of their leadership position should emphasize morality in their decision making The Bible’s laws and commandments are set within the context of devotion to God but are deontological standards that God rejects all unrighteousness and injustice, and he commends those who lead moral lives.
Making difficult choices is often painstaking; however, when decisions are made with the right and moral intent, a leader can feel comfortable about the outcome. This is not to say that others will always agree with your decision because one can never be 100 percent certain about how others think.
I have discovered that when I am faced with difficult choices, prayer is a valuable guide. And remember to Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!
By Dr. Walter Ghosten
chaplain@lhp.net
