Matthew 25:40 “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
I had the recent opportunity to participate in a retirement ceremony of an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who had a spectacular 20-year career, and who spent the final two years as my Deputy Commander. I spent my time at his retirement luncheon speaking about the many ways that his service to our nation had impressed me. Upon further reflection, however, impressing one’s boss is far from the true measure of Christian servant leadership. Therefore, the message I shared at his retirement ceremony went far beyond how he impressed me and focused on how he was truly impressive.
People who are truly impressive do not just impress the people above them in the chain of command. People who are genuinely impressive don’t live life trying to impress anyone. As a result of a mindset that selflessly serves others, impressive people impress their peers and their subordinates as much as they impress their leaders. Maybe most tellingly, they impress those who can do nothing for them – the least of these my brethren. They also don’t just impress people at work, but people in all aspects of their balanced life.
Over the weeks leading up to his retirement, I had been bombarded with stories from people from all walks of life about how impressed they had been with this retiree. Indeed, he was truly impressive. He was impressive in his character; he was impressive in his work ethic; he was impressive in his empathy; he was impressive in his compassion; he was impressive in his perspective; he was impressive in his creativity; he was impressive in his faith; he was impressive with his family. He was far more than a man ending an impressive career; instead, he was an impressive man with an impressive life. He was all of these things because he didn’t strive to impress anyone
Our nation needs leaders like this retiree. PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICA WOULD EMBRACE LEADERS WHO ARE TRULY IMPRESSIVE. Such leaders live their lives focused on serving others instead of impressing them.