A story is told that once the passengers of a vessel steaming along the St. Lawrence River were very angry because, in spite of the fact that heavy fog was encircling the boat, full speed ahead was maintained. At last one of them approached the first mate, & complained. "Oh, don't be afraid!" the mate replied with a smile. "The fog lies low, & the captain is high above it, & can see where we are going." As any military or paramilitary organisation knows, obedience to leadership is imperative to elevate the odds of any safe and successful mission. A man one time told me that he had no problem yielding to authority except when he didn’t agree. Well, that is the point, obedience doesn’t require us to agree. Situated way “above” everybody else, the captain has a perspective unequaled to anyone else's. What obedience requires is not agreement but trust, and trust is something leaders have to cultivate with their subordinates. As a captain, the person in charge has much more vested in making the right decision than anyone else on the team. He has a higher responsibility. If thing go well, he receives praise; but if anything goes awry, he will be the one whose not only the conscience, but the law and public opinion will blame. Having received more more training and gained more experience, much more is expected of him. We may not necessarily like the captain. It is good if we do, but we are not required to. What we respect is the uniform and the responsible command it represents. As a believer in God, I do appreciate that the Captain of my soul sits way up high and that he has a perspective on my life like no-one else’s. Like my earthly “captains,” He receives the praise for the good things in my life and doesn’t shirk from the blame for the things that go wrong. It is the Damocles’ Sword that comes as the price of leadership and obtaining responsibility.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
If you appreciate these articles, support their upcoming publication in a book called, "REFLECTIONS OF A FIRE CHAPLAIN"
|