Philippians 2:14-16 (NIV)
14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that
you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped
and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky
16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on
the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
Encouragement from the apostle that we should do
everything with hesitation of complaint so that we can become blameless and
pure according to the word of God.
Cheryl A. Bachelder, the CEO of Popeyes Louisiana
Kitchen, turned her company around with a focus on serving others. A committed
Christian in the workplace, Bachelder is also the author of Dare to Serve: How
to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others. In a recent interview, she share
her thoughts on servanthood:
The Bible verse that's on my calendar every day is
Philippians 2:3. Because I haven't found one that's more paramount to how I
want to lead in my family and in my work. And that is, "Do nothing from
selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than
yourselves." I really like the choice of words around counting others more
significant than yourselves. I believe we're all born with an inner 2-year-old.
And we'd really still like to be laying on the floor, kicking and screaming
because we didn't get the candy bar we wanted. It's pretty hardwired that we're
self-absorbed little people. And we learn to fake it well, but we're still
pretty much that 2-year-old on the inside.
I find that biblical perspective really challenging in
every aspect of my day—how I'm spending my time, the decisions that I make. To
put them through a filter of whether I'm thinking about myself or whether I'm
thinking about others. Am I doing this because I'll get a bigger bonus check?
Or am I really thinking about the long-term interest of this company? Am I
doing this truly for my franchise owners, or am I getting some personal benefit
that I haven't been willing to acknowledge?" Those kinds of provocative
self-mirror questions hold you to a higher standard. I always say servant
leadership is an aspiration, because you can really never claim you've arrived.
Because as soon as you do, someone will find you—and in a trap of
self-interest. It's something you're always working toward.
[Adapted from Religion & Liberty, "Servant
Leadership in a Louisiana Kitchen" (Volume 26, Number 3)]
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