A woman worked as an exotic dancer, and one time, she was dancing for a man who hid himself in the darkness of his booth. He would throw money at her feet, and when he did so, she would continue to dance for him. When she finished, she would stoop to pick the money up off the floor. Each time she did, he would throw more money at her feet, and she felt compelled to continue dancing. The money seemed endless. The man never tired of sitting where he was, never tired of doing what he was doing, which was keeping her there endlessly doing his bidding.
The man cherished where he was, with no thoughts of anything or anyone else. Eventually, tired of the game being played and having had enough, the dancer stooped down to pick up her money. He threw even more money at her feet, but she clearly had more important things to do. He sat alone with his money, powerless.
30 years ago, as a lark, my buddies said, “Come on, Mike. We’re taking you to a strip club because we know that after you get married, you won’t step into one again.” The following month I got married, and have been happily so, for 30 years. And indeed, I have never again been in a strip club. However, the story above still remained in my mind, and comes to life in today’s current events.
I had wondered why someone would give out so much money. Was he lonely? Did he think she was lonely, or in need? It became clear to me what was happening. Today, our world has been led to believe that money is our most important goal. Even if we are not deluded into believing that money itself is the noble primary goal, we may acknowledge that some extra money is always a good thing.
Money is the commodity we use to pay for essentials, to reward ourselves when we work hard, even to help establish ourselves as important, powerful, well-positioned. Money is primarily the means to an end. Money enabled the man in the booth to stay in power, to maintain power over the dancer, keeping her in the limbo of her dance.
If the man truly had concerns for the dancer, would he have not asked her what her concerns were? He threw out money; that solves any problem. She must have had enough money. She left, didn’t she? She couldn’t have had any problems.
Are we being deluded today by leadership that throws money at us to maintain power over us? Are we expected to compromise our own beliefs and values in exchange for more money, that sure fire sign of successful governance? It’s a difficult offer to refuse.
“With you this must not happen. No; the greatest among you must behave as if he were the youngest, the leader as if he were the one that serves” (Luke 22:26).
Leadership is not power; it is service. The Magis, the “more nearly” underscores an even higher expectation of leadership. The Magis is the “endeavour to conceive great resolves and elicit equally great desires;” it inspires us to seek something greater, something better. It does not require attaining perfection; perfection can be the enemy of good by dissuading ever trying.
The Spirit, whether we know she is of God, or consider her of man, inspires us all from within to work towards and to yearn for somewhere better; whether we hear and listen to our hearts above the din of the many worldly distractions is another issue. Leadership should mean endeavouring to bring us to that better place, through sharing that vision, and helping us all work together to get there.
Within the darkness of that booth, I see no guiding light to inspire me. Where is the vision? Where are we going? How long will we keep dancing, going nowhere?