Put God in Your Life and Become a Leader by Bishop T.D. Jakes

Life is as fast as a speeding racecar whizzing down the highway of time.  We, like travelers fastened in seatbelts, are helplessly hurled through time and space watching weeks, days, moments, seconds and even people pass away.  Fleeting youth stand oblivious to the fact that every day is a check cashed and a second spent. While many are aimlessly changing lanes, running out of fuel or getting repossessed, others are pressing their way with passion, purpose, power and people in their passenger seats. In the richness of your African heritage, you, young, gifted and Black scholars, must fasten your seat belts and get into the High Occupancy Vehicle (H.O.V.) lane which does not allow you to arrive at destiny’s door alone.

The fastening is symbolic of preventive precautions against mishaps that would threaten your purpose and mission. The H.O.V. lane is an alternative lane reserved for two or more travelers in one vehicle in some cities with congested corridors.  This is quite a metaphor for those of us who recognize our need to be inclusive.  This is a poignant path for you to deliver and discuss shared dreams with like-minded constituents.  Collectively, we must dare to escape the sojourn of many whose plans were aborted by the injuries of family problems, greed, financial devastation and sexual promiscuity or abuse.  There is no one moment, nor is there a temporal sense of self-gratification that is worth jeopardizing your ultimate destiny.

Opportunities do not wait for those who muse and pause for deliberation.  Oh no, the secret of success in life is to be ready for opportunity when it knocks.  There is no time for quick trips backwards to reclaim things we should have carried from travel’s onset.  You may never have a second chance to redo the errors of this moment.  Make certain you have packed what is needed, and have a travel plan and compass to get to your destination.  This is indeed a journey of a lifetime filled with pitfalls, bumps, potholes, and winding turns.  It can be a joy ride, however, if proper provisions are made along the way.

Now load your trunk, and fill your gas tanks with premium.  It is time for you to put the pedal to the metal, and let her rip. Although African Americans have made significant progress in this era, we have major opportunities for advancement. Recent statistics indicate:

• Black households have an average of $117,000 saved or invested, while the average white family has $224,000 socked away. (Charles Schwab & Co., 1998)

• Minorities, (Asians (4.4%), Blacks (6%), and Hispanics (6%), are still  underrepresented in the ranks of the self-employed. (SBA Office of Advocacy).

• Almost 36 percent of all African-American households and 10 percent of all white households are single-parent homes. (Sources: 1995 Statistical Abstracts and U.S. Bureau of the Census)

Therefore those of you who are going to drive this mean machine must be prepared to take the high road of excellence, and accelerate forward with direction and discretion.  There will be no coasters or floaters allowed on this road.  This is a narrow path for those with clear vision and a full tank.  It is for the few who are not afraid to put their head in the air, and their foot in the tank.  Yet as we chart ahead, we must not sojourn alone.    We must hit the High Occupancy Vehicle lane.  This lane is purposed to speed the transport of vehicles who were deliberate about pooling resources, and conserving time and energy. In a similar way it is important that we develop a team mentality, and alleviate an inclination to be self-consumed focusing primarily on our own objectives.

Embrace our rich heritage. We of African descent are tribal by nature, and have the propensity to develop comrades, villages and networks.  We are innately communal and inclusive allowing others to war and win with us. This is evidenced in the lives of Martin, Nelson, Medgar, Rosa, and Harriet Tubman herself traveled the H.O.V. lane.  She understood that she was not free until her brothers and sisters were liberated.  Tubman resolved to return to the South and rescue other slaves, beginning with her family.  Armed with a revolver, she made 19 trips in all, rescuing more than 300 men and women.

Emerging young leaders must go into our communities armed and prepared to rescue and empower. And like Harriet, we must keep going back again and again with fueled passion and determination. Take the time this year to include and encourage others who have the same challenges you do. Sojourn in the H.O.V. lane.  Too often, like hit and run drivers, we crash into each other, and leave one another wrecked on the side of the road.   The dents include fatherlessness, teenage pregnancy, domestic violence, date rape and molestation, to name a few.  I dare you to share the pains and fears of another, to share hope with the hopeless, and to resurrect our underserved communities.

We must be like the ants and prepare for tomorrow today.  I know a lot of people who failed to be like the ants, and in the winter of their lives were depressed and resentful, cursing their wasted youth.   They didn’t invest in the future and later in life found themselves in a financial, emotional, and spiritual state of poverty.  They died poor, bitter, and complaining for lack of an invested life’s plan.

Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!  It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at Harvest.  How long will you lie there, you sluggard?  When will you get up from your sleep?  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.

The ants are preparing, the birds are building their nests, and the beaver is constructing his dam.  All of creation invests in the future, prepares for the winter, and delays gratification for the purpose of a better tomorrow.  We should follow their lead and begin to set our sights on tomorrow while maximizing our moments today.

T.D.’s 10 Traveling Tips: 

1.      Diligently seek and revisit your God-given purpose.  Pray about it, listen, and put it in writing.  Your purpose statement should communicate why you exist and how you are used by the Father in His creation.  Your major decisions such as career and mate selection should fulfill and accentuate your purpose. 

2.      Establish your life vision.  Your vision statement should articulate what you uniquely can be and do on a particular stage of life that allows you to effectively implement your purpose in a fashion that glorifies God.

3.      Formulate your core operating values.  These should motivate your conduct, decisions, and relationships while ascertaining your purpose and vision.

4.      Develop personal improvement plans with measurable goals and strategies.  Purpose to grow in mind, body and spirit.

5.      Invest in yourself. Maximize your potential and earning power through a commitment to career development, technological literacy and personal excellence.  

6.      Don’t be intimidated by people who are more suave or gifted.  See these people as sent by God to motivate and sharpen you rather than intimidate you.

7.      Set your watch, take your time and wait your turn.  Nothing takes place of good timing.  Know when it is your time, and remember that rushing to a destination prematurely will only cause a wrecked life.

8.      Lay a solid foundation for the preservation and enrichment of your family.  Family is the team that causes us to win.  Each player has a role, and each member must be included in the huddle.

9.      Make it your business to master financial management, minimize spending and maximize earnings, savings and investments. 

10.  Stop the hemorrhaging of our communities’ economy by investing in minority businesses when feasible.  Investing in the community is more than doing business with its inhabitants.  It includes mentoring those who need a push to go beyond their limitations.

Road of Good Stewardship vs. Dead End

You need to understand that as God blesses you, there is a greater need to be a good steward.  Stewardship is more than making offerings at church.  It also includes a financial portfolio and estate planning that allows you to have the greatest impact with what God has given you.  It is a tragic misappropriation of God’s blessing when those who acquire wealth begin to drive luxury cars but drive home to trailers or cheap efficiency apartments at night.  It is poor stewardship that causes a man to wear expensive watches, sport Gucci bags, and flash diamond rings, but then fail to pay child support.  Many spend hundreds of dollars on the last imported suit and fine-skin shoes, only to struggle to scrape together the money needed to keep the lights from being cut off or the eviction notice from being delivered.

The pressure to impress has crept into our college campuses, churches and communities.  Obsessed with the need to impress, we are failing to learn how to be truly blessed and to bless others.  We are failing to learn business, leadership and adaptive skills for sustaining success and spiritual prowess that keep it all in perspective.  I say, stop the madness! Neither the make of your car nor the label in your clothes determines the faith in your heart.  Your new cell phone, DVD player, or whatever latest status symbol you have doesn’t represent your status in the eyes of the Lord.  You can’t buy your way into Heaven.  Salvation is free.

Pray this prayer with me:

I am prepared to be blessed financially with the practical steps I am learning.  But my focus is on you, for now I know that you are the greatest richness attainable and when I seek you first other things will happen as I prepare myself for what you have for me.

Jesus, come into my heart.  I admit that I am a sinner saved by grace.  You died on the cross to give me life and life more abundantly.  I know that you love me as I am, and want to renew me, restore me, wash, cleanse, mold and make me.  I desire You to be Lord of  my life and to save me.

Thank you for maturity coming to me spiritually, financially, and emotionally.  My family will be blessed by what you are teaching me now.  Amen.

Onward, fellow travelers! Godspeed!  Take this humble offering, the sum of my life experience thus far.  Use this advice to set a course for your future, formulate a strategy to carry it out, and gain the strength and inspiration to see it through.  Dare to dream and aim for goals far beyond your current position.  Seek to move ahead and reach heights unimagined.  Keep your sights set on the future and be ever mindful of the legacy you leave behind.  Are you packed and ready to take off?  Are you taking others with you?  Prepare for the journey, expect the unexpected, and enjoy the trip!