An Ill-Advised Decision
In the July 1st edition of the daily enewsletter Morning Brew, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is quoted as saying, “Taking a private jet was the wrong decision because it was insensitive to our customers who were waiting to get home.”
This apology comes after Kirby’s ill-advised decision to take a private jet to Denver, Colorado on Wednesday, June 28th, the same day thousands of customers were stranded across the country as a result of 751 canceled flights.
This insensitive decision reminded me of a scene from Mel Gibson’s move The Passion Of The Christ:
Two Pictures Of Leadership
The scene is of the infamous moment when Jesus was standing before an angry mob and Pontius Pilate was about to rule on the charges brought against Him. Unable to find fault in Jesus but facing the wrath of the crowd, this first picture shows Pilate reaching into a container of water. He proceeds to literally and figuratively wash his hands of whether to free Jesus or not. In other words, when faced with the challenge of making an unpopular decision, he took the easy way out, passed the buck, and “washed his hands” of the problem. “No decision” was his decision.
Conversely, this second picture from the movie shows a different container of water. In the scene below, Jesus reaches into that container and rather than washing His hands of the various issues He was facing, He washes the feet of His disciples.
The Two Types Of Leaders
So what does Kirby’s decision to fly private while thousands remained stranded in airports, Pontius Pilate’s decision to forego making a decision on Jesus’s innocence, and Jesus washing the feet of the disciples have in common? Believe it or not, more than you would think.
The two scenes from Gibson’s movie brilliantly contrast two types of leaders:
- Those who wash hands (Pilate). Namely, those whose words and actions serve themselves.
- Those who wash feet (Jesus). Namely, those whose words and actions serve others.
Every leader you will ever meet falls in one of those two categories.
Whether you are a pastor, little league coach, teacher, supervisor, manager, government official, parent, administrator, home owners association president, superintendent, police chief, military leader, CEO of an airline, or any other person of influence, you fall in one of two categories.
As a leader, you either wash feet or wash hands. You either serve others or serve yourself.
I do not know Mr. Kirby but I wish to extend to him grace. Yes, he made a mistake (like we all do). But then he owned up to it and apologized (like we all should). Mr. Kirby may have served himself in that particular moment but his contrition gives me hope he is someone who consistently serves others.
But the main reason I extend grace to Mr. Kirby is because of what I see when I examine my own life.
How many times have I served myself rather than serve others? How many times have I walked past, driven by, or saw a need and placed my own personal agenda and comfort ahead of someone less fortunate? How many injustices have I remained silent on because my engagement would cause me to be less popular? How much suffering could I have relieved but the cost in money and time was more than I was willing to pay? This is just to name a few.
How many times have I washed my hands of something rather than washing the feet of others?
The answer is more times than I can count.
How about you?
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