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Consequential Strangers

Think for a moment about the multitude of people, strangers or acquaintances—whose paths crossed yours in the past week: the barista behind the counter at your favorite coffee shop; the mechanic who worked on your car; the quirky characters you’ve seen on the street; the parents with whom you made small talk in the stands at a baseball game.

I recently read a book that suggests that these everyday people, these unremarkable encounters, can have a profound effect on our health, happiness, and success in life. The book, "Consequential Strangers: The Power of People Who Don’t Seem to Matter… But Really Do," by Melinda Blau, documents all the ways that strangers and acquaintances can affect our lives. How a friendly greeting can change our outlook on the day. How a simple act of service offered by someone can improve the quality of our lives.  How a casual conversation can lead to a new job or a new romance. How someone from another ethnicity or social class can expand our horizons. How a fender bender can prompt the next step on a spiritual journey.

Jesus once said that many are called, but few are chosen. I think it’s also true that many are tolerated, but few are accepted. Tolerance is a state of detached acquiescence. Acceptance requires involvement. Servant leaders cannot choose whether they will or will not become involved in the lives of people. Jesus, who was the model servant leader, ensured his identity with us and his involvement among us when he made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness (Philippians 2:7). How involved was Jesus in the lives of his disciples? How engaged was he with consequential strangers like Zacchaeus, or the woman at the well, or blind Bartimaeus?

The truth is everyone we meet has a name. Every person has a story. Every human being has talent and dignity and worth. Everyone matters. They matter to God, and they’ll matter to us, if we take the time to understand their struggles and recognize their potential. When you start looking at people that way, there are no inconsequential strangers or unremarkable encounters.

Acceptance, involvement and compassion are three words that are indispensable in the vocabulary of a servant leader. But they are more than just words. They are the attributes that flow daily from our lives to the consequential strangers we meet and come to know.

At Alexandria Industries, as aspiring servant leaders, we are learning that love is the surest strategy. It is not always easy, but we are confident that it always makes a difference.

Visit our Workplace Ministry page if you would like to learn more about our corporate chaplains.