Not listening!

 

In the past, company management teams actually listened to the staff—if not a great deal, then at least a little. They listened to experts, specialists, union representatives, and safety officers.

Top executives certainly did exactly what they wanted back then too, but they did take input on board. Now? Now they don’t listen at all. They just do their own thing.

In area after area, they just keep pushing ahead. It’s as if they’re trying to force a square peg into a round hole. They are determined to make it work.

This behaviour comes at a high cost—in terms of money, energy, and time—and causes frustration throughout the organisation.

They are often forced to back down, but by then, the damage is already done.

The problem is that they lose trust, as well as staff engagement and belief in the company.

Does this sound familiar?

Unfortunately, it is the same with our politicians.

They listen to the people during election years. They make promises. Everything is going to get better. No one is going to be worse off.

They squabble over figures, over who did what—or who didn't.

For the remainder of the term, politicians do not listen to the people.

Like management, they try to force that square peg into the hole.

They bombard us with changes that are not for us, but against us.

Just as in the workplace, the people have lost hope, faith in the future, and engagement.

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant." — Matthew 20:25-26, also Mark 10:42-45, Luke 22:25-26

For Jesus, authority is not top-down, it's bottom-up. A politician's job is diakonos — servant, like a waiter at a table. When he stops listening, he flips the model back to "lording it over" people. That is exactly what Jesus said NOT to do

Jesus said this about the religious and political leaders of His day, the Pharisees:

"They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." — Matthew 23:4

When leaders don't listen, they don't feel the weight of the laws, taxes, and rules they make. The people get crushed, while the leaders stay comfortable.

So in Jesus' logic, what happens when politicians och managers stop listening?

The people suffer under heavier burdens, they lose trust and scatter, and the leaders lose their moral legitimacy and store up judgment for themselves.

That's why His alternative was radical: the greatest must be the servant of all.