A LIVING MESSAGE FOR LIFE

Work desk at the bank - “Leadership is a word and a concept that has been more argued than almost any other I know. I am not one of the desk-pounding types that likes to stick out his jaw and look like he is bossing the show. I would far rather get behind and, recognizing the frailties and the requirements of human nature, would rather try to persuade a man to go along, because once I have persuaded him, he will stick. If I scare him, he will stay just as long as he is scared, and then he is gone.”

Vincent Van Gogh was not always an art­ist. In fact, he wanted to be a church pastor and was even sent to the Belgian mining community of Borinage in 1879. He discovered that the miners there endured deplorable working conditions and poverty-level wages. Their families were mal­nour­ished and struggled simply to survive. He felt con­cerned that the small stipend he received from the church allowed him a moderate life style, which, in contrast to the poor, seemed unfair.

One cold February evening, while he watched the miners trudging home, he spotted an old man staggering toward him across the fields, wrapped in a burlap sack for warmth. Van Gogh immediately laid his own clothing out on the bed, set aside enough for one change, and determined to give the rest away. He gave the old man a suit of clothes and he gave his overcoat to a pregnant woman whose husband had been killed in a min­ing accident. He lived on starvation rations and spent his stipend on food for the miners. When children in one family contracted typhoid fever, though fever­ish himself, he packed up his bed and took it to them.

A prosperous family in the community of­fered him free room and board. But Van Gogh de­clined the offer, stating that it was the final temp­ta­tion he must reject if he was to faithfully serve his community of poor miners. He believed that if he wanted them to trust him, he must become one of them. And if they were to learn of the love of God through him, he must love them enough to share with them.

He was acutely aware of a wide chasm, which can separate words and actions. He knew that people's lives often speak louder and clearer than their words. Maybe it was that same knowl­edge that led Francis of Assisi to frequently re­mind his monks, "Wherever you go, preach. Use words if necessary."

Today, others will be "listening" carefully to your ac­tions.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes