Dear Friends,
I recently read a story
about two Roman Catholic leaders living in the 13th century. One was a beggar,
and one was a pope, and surprisingly, as it may seem, the beggar was by far the
most influential leader of people, and the one who would leave behind the
greatest legacy of leadership.
One leader, Innocent the
3rd, was a powerful and haughty pope. The other leader was Francis, a humble
and compassionate follower of Christ, whose mission in life was to beg for
funds to repair church buildings that had fallen into disrepair.
Pastor James Garlow tells
the story about a chance encounter between these two contrasting men. It seems
that Francis, wanting official recognition of his ministry to secure funds for
church restorations had traveled to the Vatican to seek a meeting with pope
Innocent.
Quite by accident, they
encountered each other in a hallway. Garlow writes, "It was a moment of drama.
Francis, surprised to see the world's most powerful person, inarticulately
blurted out his request. There was a moment of silence as the all-powerful
Innocent looked at the lowly Francis. Finally, the stunned and angry pope told
the strange, appearing man from Assisi 'to go roll in the mud with the
pigs.' And how did Francis respond? Did he retaliate for Innocence's
thoughtless command? No, Francis, obedient as he was, sought out a nearby pig
pen and did exactly as he had been ordered. He rolled in the mud with the
pigs.
Had Bishop Guido, who was
also from the same hometown as Francis, not been in Rome at that time, our
story might have ended with Francis in the pig pen. But it doesn't end there.
Bishop Guido persuaded Francis to leave the hogs behind and meet with a well-placed
Cardinal who would be able to arrange a more appropriate, informal meeting with
the pope.
At the second meeting,
pope Innocent was quite intrigued with Francis, particularly the fact that
Francis had taken his words literally (which Innocent likely never meant) and
had rolled around in the mud with the pigs.
The world's most powerful
person was charmed by Francis's life and zeal, and the pope granted him and his
followers official recognition. Francis and his followers became known as the
preachers of Penance, the title, which was later changed to Franciscans." The
21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Tested by Time, James L. Garlow, Thomas
Nelson, P. 3O.
You probably know this man
better by the name of Francis of Assisi, the world's most favored saint.
Two men, one haughty and
one humble, one a powerful potentate and one a passionate wandering preacher,
and a pauper at that, were religious leaders, and yet few know much about
Innocent the 3rd and yet almost everyone knows something of Saint Francis of Assisi.
You see humility left its
mark, and humility will always leave its mark when practiced with true
sincerity.
Warren Wiersbe writes,
"The proud man has a mirror in which he sees himself. The humble man has a
window through which he sees others.”
It is true that pride
builds walls, and humility builds bridges. Francis learned the lesson well.
Innocent failed to learn the lesson at all, and because of it, when we think of
leaders who have left a spiritual legacy, we think of the humble Francis and
not the haughty, pope Innocent.
Francis learned the lesson
of Philippians 2 that reminds us that we are to "Do nothing out of selfish
ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than
ourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to
the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ
Jesus, who being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God,
something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross.”
Philippians 2: 3-8
Yours in faith and
friendship,
Tom
P.S. "Humility is a divine veil that covers our good deeds and hides them from our eyes." Climacus Saint John
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