A 17th-century monk schools me on modern servant leadership
Brother Lawrence has special credibility to speak into today's working world.
I'm reading his book, The Practice of the Presence of God, published in 1692. One of his teachings is that all work is valuable to God, and we don't need to accomplish great things to please him.
This humble monk didn't particularly like his job. (Can you relate?) As he toiled washing dishes at the monastery, the only thing that kept him laboring day in and day out was his love for God.
Not working for pay, or even to serve others: but laboring as an expression of adoration for the One who created him, gave him abilities, and even placed him in trying circumstances.
Who am I to complain about my own work?
I've barely begun reading this classic book, and I have to keep putting it down to ponder its teachings. For example, he "resolved to make the love of God the end of all his actions…." (p. 17).
This makes me ask myself how much I really love God. Do I just say it? Do I really feel it, express it in words and actions, consider it even in my thoughts?
Brother Lawrence didn't seem to like rote prayers. He spoke to God throughout his day, especially while he stood over that sink and all those dirty dishes.
Surely we can do the same, wherever we lead and while we work.
Even if we don't enjoy our job.
 | Tom Harper is publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and executive chairman of Networld Media Group, a business-to-business publisher and event producer. He has written five books, including Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership (DeepWater Books, 2019) as well as the Christian business fable Through Colored Glasses and its sequel Inner Threat (DeepWater, 2022). Learn More » |
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