Superiority.

So, I tend like being better than other people at thing. Who doesn't? It feels great to be the best.

Anyways, over thanksgiving break, I went back to the Donatos (pizza place) I work at and there were several people who I hadn't met yet. I really wanted to just tell them I had worked there all summer and knew what was what. I figured they were probably newer and less experienced than I. And, seeing as we hadn't met, it was possible they might mistake me as newly hired and try to tell me how to do things. (Oh, the horror.)

I ended up closing with the other driver who I hadn't met yet. We talked a little bit and I asked how long he had worked there so I could totally and selflessly have a chance to stick in how long I had worked there before he could start telling me what to do. And he didn't even really care. He was just like "cool".

And here's the kicker: I hadn't closed in a long time and forgot what all needed to be done. So, I ended up asking Albert what he needed me to do. And there was something in the way he responded, respectfully and humbly, that put me at ease and let me listen to him. I didn't mind doing what he told me, despite my intense desire to exert my supposed experience.

If I think about it, isn't that the kind of leader I should be? Humble and respectful? Yet, I often become consumed with trying to be the best that I probably alienate others by forcing them to acknowledge me as superior in some fashion. It's like I make life a contest and I have to be first.

For example, I don't understand Russell Crowe's character in Gladiator. He was supposed to be emperor, ended up a slave, and doesn't try to gain his rightful position. I would not stand for that, yet he takes it in stride.

Hopefully my diction here is excessive and I don't fail that horribly at all of this. But I'm sure it comes through. And it is something I should work on. So, call me on it. If I start trying to show off how I think I'm better at something, and it really doesn't matter, let me know. Cause it isn't biblical. I should consider myself no better than any other man because we're all fallen and all sins are equal. And we are to encourage and uplift one another, not tear down for personal pride.