Leadership by Example
WHERE THERE IS LOVE, THERE IS GOD.
August 21, 2020
Saan Ka Nanggaling?
August 22, 2020PITIK-BULAG: Leadership by Example
Having an authority or holding a position in the community is necessary and natural. Such authority to rule is given to shepherd and serve the community. Even at the very beginning, the Lord had given our first parents to rule and protect the whole creation: “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground (Genesis 1:26).”
In our gospel today, the Lord criticized the Pharisees and scribes for not performing their duties as leaders correctly. They were misguided, boastful, and manipulative with regard to using their authority to serve God’s people. They missed the point of the power given to them. Authority was given to them not to control and abuse people but to serve and empower people. When the Lord publicly scolded the religious leaders, he simply wanted to remind them of their holy duties as SERVANT LEADERS to ease the burden of God’s people, to inspire them through witnessing and to lead them closer to the Lord. Unfortunately, the honor attached to their position produced excessive pride and self-worth. In the end, they saw their power as their false god and forgot their duty as servants of the people of God.
TWO ERRORS. In order to correct the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus expressed their two greatest errors: Hypocrisy and pride.
1. Hypocrisy. The Lord hates hypocrites. In our gospel today, Jesus publicly condemned the religious leaders of their hypocrisy: They preach but do not practice. They say something but do the opposite. They impose rules for people to follow, but they break these rules publicly.
Are we also like the Pharisees and scribes. Do we impose something on others and yet we don’t practice what we preach? Is our life a living manifestation of what we say?
2. Pride. There’s nothing wrong with having pride with the power given to us. But too much pride is dangerous. Especially when it goes into our brain and forget the main reason for having such power and authority, that is to serve. As Spiderman would say, “great power means great responsibility.” Do you know your duties as a public or community leader?
In the gospel, Jesus enumerated in detail the sinful pride that the religious leaders committed: all their works must be seen by everyone, the need to be seen as a prayerful person, the need to be praised in public places, and to be called teachers. Unfortunately, they were not aware that their desire for honor and praise was beyond satisfaction. It was a limbo of desires that no one could escape. No satisfaction. It will long for more and more until it becomes an addiction.
In the end, hypocrisy and pride are the two main enemies of authority or power in a community. It moves us away from the responsibility attached to the power or authority given to us by God. In our present situation, many of our government, community, and church servants are trapped by these two errors. Are you one of them? In practice, how do you use your power or authority given to you? Do you use it to serve people or to manipulate people for your own gain?
THE CORRECTION. After Jesus enumerated the two errors of the religious leaders, he immediately proposed to everyone how to correct their mistakes. He reiterated the importance of becoming a servant, or should we say, SERVANT LEADERS. We lead by serving or by witnessing. We set aside our selfish desire, and seek the needs of others.
“The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matthew 23: 11-12)
Each time we decentralized our minds from ourselves, we see our duties to serve others. There’s no satisfaction in seeking praise and honor, but in seeking to ease the burdens of others. We gain genuine authority and respect from others, not by imposing our strength over others or by instilling fear in their hearts, but by our solid example or witnessing: we lead people by accompaniment as we empower them to rise and walk on their own.
– Pitik-Bulag
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August 22, 2020 – Saturday
