If we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection… —Romans 6:5

When Christ comes in, things change. Life is different…from the inside out. It’s not about controlling your “sin” or managing your life; it’s about developing a relationship with the Holy Spirit inside of you, who will overcome all of these things in time. Holiness is something that not only happens in an instant ,in God’s sight, but over time from everyone else’s perspective. With this being true however, God’s Spirit is not interested in being “confined” to one area of our lives, locked in some spiritual closet. No. he desires to permit and affect every area of our lives. When I come to Christ, it is not to only accept one part of His “life” or “lordship”; it is to acknowledge Him as Lord of all, not some or something. Jesus will not settle for being part of our lives. He is the Whole of life. John14:6

When I submit myself to the Lordship Of Jesus Christ, holiness begins to invade all areas of my life. It is through the submission of my will and surrender of my “rights” that I begin to experience the life of Christ and His holiness ensues.

Christ is not calling people to simply to be leaders in life but to lead by examples in certain things. One example we are to lead in is holiness. This doesn’t mean being “Holier than thou” in our outlook or treatment of others as that’s the way of the Pharisees. What it does mean is that we hold ourselves to a higher standard in what we pursue, how we choose to live and where we invest time and resources. Holiness is not something we “force onto others” but something we exude from our own relationship with God. We understand that apart from Christ we are not holy or capable of becoming holy without the grace of His Spirit at work in us. Thus leaders understand the reliance upon God’s spirit to not only make them holy but trust that living righteously and doing right will be rewarded by God Himself.

Leaders have difficult decisions to make when it comes to being separated out, i.e. holy. But that is also the essence of leadership: being called out. Leaders understand that as such, leadership demands that you live differently. It’s a higher calling, a different way of living, becoming a different kind of person altogether. Anyone who is a Christian is called to be a leader, it’s that simple. And leadership is influence. So make sure your influence is godly and holy. Allow your leadership to be marked by these traits and you will not regret it.

Oswald Chambers said:

Just as there is only one kind of humanity, there is only one kind of holiness— the holiness of Jesus. And it is His holiness that has been given to me. God puts the holiness of His Son into me, and I belong to a new spiritual order.

Final thought: Let God lead you in the paths of righteousness and then you lead others down the same path.