The Daily CHEW™
Moving God’s Love from Head to Heart for Christian Professionals
From the outside, he looked like the leader everyone wanted to work for — polished, talented, early 30s, delivering results that drew reporters and industry recognition. But inside the one-on-ones, it was a different story. He drove his team relentlessly. He knew how to press every button, control every outcome, and keep everyone quiet about it. The results were undeniable — and so was the cost. While he was out of town receiving accolades, half his team was in third-round interviews with competitors, and every one of them had spoken to his boss. The voicemail waiting for him said he was in danger of being fired.
He called that same day. And before he ever signed up for anything, he confessed — not a polished version, but the real one. How hard he had been. How he had controlled people. How he wanted to change with every fiber of his being. When we talked about apologizing to his team from that same honest heart, he did not flinch. The team was skeptical at first — and they had every right to be. But over time, they saw that his repentance was genuine. Not a performance management strategy. Not damage control. A man being reshaped by God’s love from the inside out. (I Said I Was Sorry — So Why Does It Still Feel Like I’m Failing? explores what genuine repair looks like when the first apology does not fix everything.) That team became a team people wanted to join — not because of the results, but because of who their leader was becoming.
Clarity
Is there a relationship on my team — or in my home — where I have been powering through friction instead of pausing to repair it honestly?
Hear
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23–24, ESV). God does not say “wait until it blows over.” He says go first. Scripture reveals that reconciliation is so central to His heart that He tells you to leave worship on the table until the repair is made. God reshapes leaders who take that step — and the people around them notice.
Exchange
If I really believed God’s love is strong enough to sustain me through the vulnerability of a genuine apology, how would that change the way I lead the person I have been avoiding repairing with?
Walk (30–90 seconds)
Name one person — on your team, in your family, in your life — where friction has gone unaddressed. Before the day ends, send a specific message: not “sorry if I offended you,” but “I see that I [specific action] and it cost you [specific impact]. I am sorry. I want to lead differently.” That is it. One honest sentence of repair. If this is the only thing I do from this CHEW today, it is enough.
With you on the journey,
Ryan
If you had to put this into one sentence for today, what would you say God is inviting you to rest in or return to?
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