The great temptation for spiritual leaders is to use their people rather than to love them. We focus on the task that needs to be accomplished, rather than on the people doing the work. We regularly need to be reminded, as Timothy was, that the people are the work. If we cannot love those we lead, we should not hold our leadership post.
Godly leadership is always performed out of love. Such affection can only be properly expressed out of a pure heart. If our hearts are filled with anger or resentment or fear, then we cannot truly care for others. Our hearts must be pure, for the perfect love of Christ to be properly dispensed through us to others. Our love must also be expressed out of a good conscience. We cannot love others, hypocritically. We cannot care for people while talking about them behind their backs. We cannot act lovingly to peoples’ faces while denigrating them in private. To truly love people, our conscience must be clear. Finally, our faith must be sincere. We cannot proclaim our faith from the platform but deny it by our actions. If our faith is genuine, it will be expressed in all that we do, whether in public or in private.
Are you loving those you lead? Can they tell that you care about them? Is there anything that could be adjusted in your life so you are free to love your people to a greater degree than you are now?