“. . . in humility consider others better than yourselves.”  – Philippians 2:3 

Having worked over thirty years in sales organizations I observed there are two types of salespeople.  There is the salesperson who works for himself, and the one who works for the customer.  More bluntly, there is the one who works for commissions, and the one who works for the good of the clients.  Both, of course, clearly understand their compensation is tied directly to the transaction.  The distinction is that the former is motivated by the compensation he will receive, while the latter is motivated by doing what is best for the customer.

In his book, Give and Take, Wharton Business School professor Adam Grant sets out to explore how a person’s intentions impacts his or her long-term success.  In his research he categorizes people this way: “Givers”, those who are genuinely generous in their behavior; “Takers”, those who tend to be in it for themselves; but he also includes those who he labels as “Matchers”, who often behave like “givers” but with an expectation of reciprocity or quid pro quo.  What he concludes is that “takers” often jump ahead of the pack early on, while “matchers” simply know how to play the game.  But in the long run it is the “givers” who are most likely to rise to the top and grow to become real leaders.

This principle, of course, is not limited just to the sales profession, as all careers and professions are impacted by it, in fact it is true about all endeavors.  Once I was taking a public speaking course when the obvious question arose from our class about how to overcome stage fright when speaking before an audience.  The instructor’s answer was surprisingly simple.  We become frightened, he explained, because we are focused on ourselves, how we appear and what the audience is thinking about us.  Focus instead, he instructed, on the audience and the message you are offering.  The distinction is that the stage-frightened speaker is a “taker”, motivated by how he or she is perceived by the audience.  The confident speaker, though, is a “giver”, motivated by what he or she is doing for the audience.

The Apostle Paul could not have summed it up more succinctly, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”

“I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work.” – Ecclesiastes 3:22 

What motivates you more, the demands of others or desire for achievement?  My own response to that question goes back to my experience working for Bobby Fuller, the supervisor where I was employed part time during my last two years of college.  The job itself was more or less an assembly line operation that required only a moderate amount of skill, all of which was learned on the job.  It was Bobby who taught me everything, how to operate all the machines in the plant and how to perform every job function, so that in a short time I became fairly proficient at most of them.  It was, however, boring work for the most part, not exactly what I wanted to do the rest of my life.  Yet, I can’t remember a single day I did not look forward to going to work.  Bobby was the kind of guy who just made you feel appreciated, and I worked hard for him.  Everybody did.

At the same time I was working part time for Bobby I was spending the rest of my days across town on the campus of The University of Texas in Austin completing my degree in business and finance.   And it was, coincidentally, during those same years when Theory X and Theory Y management styles happened to be getting a lot of attention in business academia and corporate circles.  They were fairly new concepts back then (by that name at least) having been developed in the 1960’s by Douglas McGregor of MIT’s Sloan School of Management.  Essentially what the two theories suggest is this:  Theory X, which assumes people are inherently lazy and hate work, requires that managers must rely heavily on threat and coercion in order to motivate employees.  Theory Y, on the other hand, assumes people are naturally ambitious and actually enjoy work, thus respond well to positive motivation.  Using the metaphor of either the carrot or the stick, in other words, Theory Y might represent the carrot and Theory X the stick.

I am pretty sure Bobby Fuller never heard of Theories X and Y.  He did, however, seem to instinctively understand the power of positive motivation, through which he became quite effective in raising the level of productivity even in that mundane assembly line operation; for he had a way of creating such an upbeat environment that everyone enjoyed working there.  I know I did.  King Solomon once observed, “I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work.”  Thus, understanding that concept, Bobby employed a Theory Y leadership style as effectively as anyone I have ever known.

“. . . give thanks in all circumstances.”  – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 

If there was any saving grace from this winter’s historic Arctic cold front it would be, for our household at least, that it caused us to have a much deeper appreciation for what we have, as opposed to dwelling as we sometimes do on what we do not have; for it was out of pure necessity that in order to endure – indeed to survive – the extreme cold required making best use of what we have rather than concerning ourselves with what we feel we lack or wish we had.

Like many, we experienced periodic loss of power, sometimes for hours at a time causing the temperature inside our home to plummet, a problem over which we had no control.  We had no choice but to figure out how to make best use of what we have.  Without our furnace functioning during the power outages, for example, we created a cozy living space near the gas fireplace in our living room that provided much needed warmth.  We found seldom used wool blankets to bundle up in enabling us to sleep at night.  Taking inventory of our pantry and freezer we found that we were stocked with ample food to feed us for several days, and our gas cooktop ensured we had a place to cook it.  We had candles to provide light during the dark evenings, and a deck of cards along with our old Scrabble board to keep us entertained when we could neither read nor watch TV.

In other words, despite the miserable conditions of those several days, we had plenty, all we needed to get by.  There are, of course, people all around who are less fortunate, who do not have enough to sustain themselves, who lack such basics as food, shelter, and clean water.  But I am not in that category.  So, why do I always want more when others suffer from having too little?  It is one of mankind’s oldest temptations, I suppose, going back to the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  They had plenty, all they ever needed to get by – except they wanted more, that one fruit they had been forbidden to take.

I am so like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, surrounded by plenty.  Yet, how tempted I am, like them, to reach for more.  Thanksgiving is the only remedy for such a condition, and for a brief few miserable, bitterly cold days I was able to experience a deep appreciation for what we have, and to “give thanks in all circumstances.”

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  1 Corinthians 15:54 

“The Bible says my King is the King of the Jews.  He’s the King of Israel.  He’s the King of righteousness.  He’s the King of the ages.  He’s the King of Heaven.  He’s the King of glory.  He’s the King of Kings, and He’s the Lord of lords.  That’s my King!  I wonder, do you know Him?  My King is a sovereign King.  No means of measure can define his limitless love.  He’s enduringly strong.  He’s entirely sincere.  He’s eternally steadfast.  He’s immortally graceful.  He’s imperially powerful.  He’s impartially merciful.  Do you know Him?  He’s the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of the world.  He’s God’s Son.  He’s the sinner’s Savior.  He’s the peak of civilization.  He’s unparalleled.  He’s unprecedented.  He is the loftiest idea in literature.  He’s the highest personality in philosophy.  He’s the fundamental doctrine of true theology.  He’s the only one qualified to be an all-sufficient Savior.  I wonder if you know Him today.

“He supplies strength for the weak.  He’s available for the tempted and the tried.  He sympathizes and He saves.  He strengthens and sustains.  He guards and He guides.  He heals the sick.  He discharges debtors.  He delivers the captives.  He defends the feeble.  He blesses the young.  He serves the unfortunate.  He regards the aged.  He rewards the diligent, and He beautifies the meager.  I wonder if you know Him.  He’s the key to knowledge.  He’s the wellspring of wisdom.  He’s the doorway of deliverance.  He’s the pathway of peace.  He’s the roadway of righteousness.  He’s the highway of holiness.  He’s the gateway of glory.  Do you know Him?

“Well, His light is matchless.  His goodness is limitless.  His mercy is everlasting.  His love never changes.  His word is enough.  His grace is sufficient.  His reign is righteous, and His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  I wish I could describe Him to you.  Yes, He’s indescribable.  He’s incomprehensible.  He’s invincible.  He’s irresistible.  You can’t get Him out of your mind.  You can’t get Him off of your hand.  You can’t outlive Him, and you can’t live without Him.  Well, the Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him.  Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him.  Herod couldn’t kill Him.  Death couldn’t handle Him, and the grave couldn’t hold Him.  I wonder if you know Him?”  (from a sermon by the late Dr. S.M. Lockridge, “That’s My King!”) . . . The Lord is risen, and “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  Happy Easter!

“Two are better than one . . .  If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 

In his novel entitled Brendan, Frederick Buechner tells a story of a man pushing himself up from the table revealing that he only had one leg.  As he began to hop sideways to reach for his walking-stick he lost his balance and would have surely fallen on the floor except for Brendan who was nearby jumping up and catching him.  “I’m as crippled as the dark world,” the man confessed, to which Brendan responded, “which one of us isn’t?”  “The truth of what Brendan said stopped all our mouths,” says the book’s narrator.  “We was cripples all of us.”  “To lend each other a hand when we’re falling,” Brendan then philosophies, “Perhaps that’s the only work that matters in the end.”

“We was cripples all of us,” and no story better illustrates this than the Passion story we commemorate this Holy Week preceding Easter.  Jesus had endured an exhaustive trial, flogged, beaten, ridiculed, spat upon, and tortured in every way imaginable, both mentally and physically, then forced to lug the heavy timber on which he was to be executed up the road leading to Calvary.  Exhausted from all this he stumbled, falling face down in the dirt.  It was then that a man from Cyrene named Simon was summoned to the rescue, not unlike Brendan who rescued the man with but one leg.

So, if even the Creator of the universe and Savior of the world can stumble and need someone to lift his bloody, filthy face out the dirt, then carry his burden for a while, what does that say about the rest of us?  How many of us have not from time to time been rescued by another human being?  I often consider how I would never be where I am today if certain people had not been there to catch me before I fall, lift me up when I did, or offer me a chance or an opportunity I did not deserve.  Likewise, in those times when I am upright, am I aware enough and thoughtful enough to offer a helping hand to those who are stumbling, or face down in the dirt buried beneath a heavy burden?

We are cripples, all of us.  That is why “Two are better than one . . .  If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”  May we be there to help one another up; for “to lend each other a hand when we’re falling, perhaps that’s the only work that matters in the end.”  Just ask Simon.