Although the author is unknown, the following statement is worth reading, “You attract people by the qualities you display. You keep them by the qualities you possess.”
One side of this thought identifies what people see, but the other side speaks to what people know about us.
Often times, leaders put forth a front that people see on the surface, but it may not truly portray the character of the individual. Followers may flock to someone they see displaying qualities they admire and perhaps desire to possess themselves.
However, in order to keep these followers loyal and faithful, these qualities must make up the core values possessed by their leader.
While we have all heard variations of the thought, it is true that we can fool some of the people some of the time. We may even fool most of the people most of the time. But, we cannot fool all of the people all of the time. And even if we could, we cannot fool God.
We must focus on possessing the type of godly qualities demanded of spiritual leaders. The outward display that people see will naturally follow.