Part 1 – Light From Many Lamps

The story that I chose from part one of Light from Many Lamps by Lillian Eichler Watson was the one entitled Seneca (p. 8). On top of being a pastor in an international organization I am also a history enthusiast. Therefore when I saw a story from Seneca I immediately jumped all over it! I was so glad I did. Seneca was reading the works of the Greek slave named Aesop. We know these stories as “Aesop’s Fables”. Most of these stories include animals however they always have a good lesson at the end. Suddenly Seneca’s attention was caught by a single phrase: “Be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything” (p. 8). The reason this stood out was because Seneca had just written a paper that had that same lesson, which is the leadership lesson for this story: A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be (p. 8). In other words, you have everything you need to be happy, so be happy.

“True happiness is to understand our duties toward God and man; to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future; not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears, but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is abundantly sufficient; for he that is so wants nothing (Eichler Watson, p. 8-9).

As a pastor this is an incredible message to hear and it’s something that I always convey almost every Sunday: God knows what is best for us and don’t we want what is best for us? Sure sometimes it gets awkward and we have to step outside of our comfort zones, however, His way is best. New learning and impact that this little piece of inspiration has brought to my life and practice of leadership in my context is that, simply, I need to rely on God more. Of course we have to be good stewards of our resources and I think our mind automatically goes to money with this, but what about people? We also have to be content with personalities that we work with – the fact that we all work differently.

Where I didn’t expect this story to “hit” me was in my personal life. I sometimes get so caught up in getting the new best of everything that I completely loose track that we have everything I need: the love of Jesus, a beautiful family, a roof over my head, food on the table, and the continued opportunity to help my fellow human beings.

References:

Watson, L.E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps. New York: Simon and Schuster.