Page 196 - The Bible On Leadership

182 THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP

was David Reid, an operations division manager in Salt Lake City, who
worked with disabled residents of a community center.
Reid worked directly with a woman who had cerebral palsy. Her
main focus was to be able to tilt her head enough to drive her wheel-
chair. ‘‘It’s easy to take things for granted when you see something like
that,’’ observes Reid.
And Reid had indeed been taking similar things for granted at his
own workplace, resulting in some injustices that he did not appreciate
at the time. For example, he had once warned an employee that he
might lose his job when he asked for time off to help his wife care for
their disabled child. An administrator of the community service pro-
gram observes, ‘‘You can get locked into that ‘I’ve got boxes to move
and people to move those boxes’ thing, but those people have to move
themselves, and those people have to be treated with fairness and dig-
nity to do it well.’’ 6
Mark Colvard, another UPS manager from Toledo, was assigned to
McAllen, Texas, to work with poor Hispanics. He served lunch at a
hospice, worked with incarcerated youth, and built an addition onto a
house to accommodate a family of seven. He feels he’s a better manager
now: ‘‘I wasn’t as open as I am now. I take more time with people.’’
He’s also kinder; he had previously turned down a temporary worker’s
request to go full time because ‘‘it wasn’t in the budget,’’ but now he
‘‘found’’ the dollars by reducing overtime. The real reason he made the
hire? ‘‘It was the right thing to do.’’
Ironically, Colvard’s numbers haven’t suffered from all this infusion
of justice; in fact, they’ve improved. ‘‘I’m closer to my business plan
than I’ve ever been. If my experience in McAllen has anything to do
with that, I need to go back.’’ 7
The Bible also makes special provision for justice to the poor. Deu-
teronomy 15 states:

Do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brothers. Rather
be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs . . . Give generously
to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord
will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.