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People or Problem?
by Janet Riley I work for an organization with over 2500 employees, and I am not at the top of the organizational chart. I usually do not have that much contact with the higher level managment. I was fortunate to get to know the director of the agency. To me, she was a perfect example of servant leadership. She treated me as a person, and showed me that I had value in her sight. She did not interact with me based on my job title and where I was in the organizational chart. The question is, do I always treat others the way she treated me? The answer, based on two recent examples, is not always. I was with a friend and visiting my husband in the skilled nursing facility he is in. There is a lady that lives there, and is always coming in to the men's room in her wheelchair. When the nurses and aides see her, they remind her that it is not her room, and usually escort her out of the room. I had adapted the attitude of just seeing it as a nuisance when she came into the room. The friend that was with me starting talking to her, introduced herself and me, and asked what her name was. I found what her name was, and started to see her as a person, not a problem. My friend gently reminded her it was not her room when she was about to get out of her wheelchair and enter someone else's private space. She then responded in a positive way to the gentle reminder, and went on her way. Other times it is easy to judge people that are different from us, and to see them as a problem. There were some people that had a very different lifestyle and values than mine. They were the ones that stopped to help a neighbor locked out of her apartment. I was surprised when I found out who had been so helpful. Jesus used that as a reminder to me that all people have value and not to judge by apprearances. I have asked Jesus to help me see others with His eyes and His heart, instead of my own viewpoint. To see the dignity and worth of human beings is not based on if they agree with me or have the same values I do. Jesus would have died for each one of us, if we were the only person on the planet. That is the real measure of our worth. (C) Janet Riley, 2014. I know God as a personal God who communicates with us, if we listen. I am starting on a Christian writing career and open to where God leads me. Please review my other articles at FaithWriters. I would like to hear from you. Please email at [email protected]. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |