The Inner Voice That Undermines Our Leadership

Whose voices are you listening to, the inner, outward, or the right voice?

Some of the most important conversations are not those that we have with others but that we have with ourselves: those subconscious dialogues that we have daily. These conversations play a very significant role in forming our identity, then how we view ourselves, and whether we maximize the God-given potential of our lives and yes, who we eventually become. I believe these internal conversations have more influence than our external conversations.

From where do our inner voices come?

Our loudest inner voices come from our family of origin. People whose parents showed them unconditional love and received encouragement often have healthy inner voices. For many others, however, the mantras we hear from our family of origin are phrases like “I am not good enough,” “I am not worthy,” “I will never amount to much,” or “I don’t measure up.” This list of negative inner voices is not accurate, but they can play a compelling role in how we perceive ourselves and the personal dialogue that informs our lives.

Our inner voices play a compelling role in how we perceive ourselves. – Vince Miller

There’s another voice that all of us hear.

It is the voice of Satan, the Evil One, who wants to keep us discouraged, fearful and timid. Above all, he wants to prevent us from living in freedom, success, and health. Jesus says in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

The evil one wants to steal our joy, destroy our self-image and kill our effectiveness among other things. Jesus comes to give life and fullness of life while the evil one wants to rob us of that life. Thus, Satan will tell us that we are not worthy because of our sin, that we are not good enough to please God, that God cannot use us for anything significant, and anything that can discourage or demoralize us. Hear me: Jesus says they are lies and that Satan is the father of lies.

What does Jesus say about us?

Jesus says the opposite of Satan. We are chosen, loved, forgiven, no longer live in condemnation, are gifted, called and loved from the foundation of the world, and adopted by God to be one of His family. We can walk in confidence because God’s love drives out fear. Nothing can separate us from His love. And, we are also holy, redeemed, called for a purpose, and given the gifts, we need to fulfill that purpose. Read just the first two chapters of Ephesians, and you’ll get the picture.

Every day each of us has a battle in our minds. Which voices will we listen to? The destructive voice of Satan or perhaps of our family of origin or the truthful voice of Jesus whose grace has saved us and who is in our corner all the time. Listen to His voice because His voice is who we actually are and leads to leadership freedom.

Vince Miller is a speaker, author, and mentor to men. He is an authentic and transparent leader who loves to communicate to audiences on the topics of mentorship, fathering, leadership and manhood. He has authored 13 books and small group curriculum for men and is the primary content creator of all Resolute materials. Contact Vince Miller here. His newest book is Thirty Virtues That Build A Man.