Someone asked me if I would be a Christian if I lived in India.
I told them that I was impressed with the God, who took on a human body and sweated as a carpenter for many years before he did any miracles. The one that partnered among men and who truly coined the servant boss concept gets my attention – not the one who sits cross-legged humming sweet nothings.
I believe servant-heartedness and teamwork are those things that we humans constantly struggle with, and therefore true religion hits them right on target. It seems that through the ages we naturally have a tendency to think that the successful person gets to sit back while the “slaves” do all the work. Jesus Christ turned that concept upside down when he modeled the true servant-heartedness of a leader far better than any individual before or after. He warns us that those who sponge off of others sweat will end up miserable indeed at the end if not before.
I see the value of the servant boss every day as I watch people with horses. If people are serious about the servant boss concept, they become remarkable horse people indeed. For one thing, if they sweat in partnership with their horse, they get and/or stay in much better shape, so injuries are much less frequent or avoided altogether. Another great thing is learning to become sensitive to the horse. The whole value of learning to be a servant makes us a better boss because we truly “know” what is needed, when and why and we become very proficient at providing it when this idea becomes real to us.
I have two young men helping me train horses now, and they both know that when I clue them to start focusing on the Jesus Christ perspective, “magic” happens.
When we ask a human to become a horse, and a horse to focus on the human, we begin seeing glimpses of a true high. It makes drugs and booze look like children’s broken toys compared to this real thing.
A drug addict down the road steals a high dollar chainsaw and pawns it to pay for his drug habit high. Meanwhile, Malachi and Mike – a couple of dedicated helpers – get paid for their genuine high, becoming excellent with horses.
Basically, when we really tune in to a horse and them to us, everything becomes so much smoother. The horse knows what we are going to do before we do it, but even more so we know what the horse is going to do before they do it. The smoothness makes us feel like we are floating on clouds.
The excitement I get about Jesus Christ is the substance that creates a high on something that will help Malachi and Mike be productive in truth and light, rather than the drug addict sneaking around in the dark trying to pay for his adult baby bottles.
Is it not incredible that God has set up this world in such a way that the servant-hearted folks end up on top in the end? “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.”
Mike Daniels is a horsemanship trainer and barefoot trimming specialist from Raymondville, Mo.
Email: rlhorse58@yahoo.com.
