The idea of speaking to people’s potential is leadership 101, but unfortunately for many of us, we have left this concept in the classroom.

Jesus did this in such a beautiful way. With Peter. He knew his name was Simon, but He chose instead to call him Peter. The Rock. He wasn’t the rock yet. But he had the potential to be and this is what Jesus spoke to. What he could one day become.

Have you ever allowed yourself to be sketched by a caricature artist? As a kid, we used to go to amusement parks and these artist would be set up sketching or painting pictures. Sometimes there would be crowds of people watching if the artist was really good. The whole idea behind caricature art is to distort a person’s looks so they take on a cartoonish persona. Most artists do this by exaggerating your most undesirable features. If you got big ears, then the artist will make them “Dumbo” ears. If you have a long nose, then you have become Pinocchio. Big Chin = Leno, and so on. It used to amaze me that I would watch them paint a picture of some guy with two big front teeth and the artist would turn him into a rabbit and the crowd would laugh and the guy would nervously laugh and then walk away.

Mental note – If you have self esteem issues, a caricature artist will not provide the support you need.

Many of us are “caricature artists” with our friends, families and peers. We don’t take out a pencil and paper to sketch people’s weaknesses but we draw our own conclusions about how they don’t measure up. And what’s worse these are the things we focus on and talk about.

This may be one of the greatest struggles in my life. I look at people’s mistakes, hang-ups, idiosyncrasies, rather than their potential. I have done this many times with my wife Samantha, trying to push her into some type of conformation that is by my design rather than Christ’s perfection in her. I have done it in band rehearsals when my expectations for correct notes and rhythms overshadows my ability to see the creative musician lurking in each member of our team.

How do you look at people? How do you speak to people? How much of what you say to your loved ones speaks to their potential rather than their performance.

I am sorry that I am not always the affirming leader, friend and husband that I could be. I am praying that through Christ I can become a person who sees the possibility in a person instead of their performance.
Hopefully you can do the same for me. See me for what I can become in Christ.

If we really saw people that way. It seems like it would be much harder to get angry, depressed or disappointed, because now we know their behavior is not their identity.

Our identity is in Christ and that is definitely someone I shouldn’t have a problem loving unconditionally.
But what about those who aren’t in Christ? Who are not yet believers?

Same thing. If you love them for what they could become. A beautiful creation in Christ. Then their current performance is not the focal point of your relationship. It’s the hope of what they could be.

My challenge to you is to try this. Start speaking to people’s potential and see if they don’t just start to live up to it.

Have a great week,

Michael Burton
Pastor of Worship Arts
Lakeside Church
916.985.3245