66 THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP
‘important.’ ’’ She makes it plain to incoming law graduates and interns
that ‘‘our staff is like gold to us and are not to be treated any less pre-
ciously... Anyone who is found to be speaking down to somebody or
mistreating them verbally...isreally out on their ear.’’^23
At Fel-Pro, a manufacturer in Skokie, Illinois, caring is a way of life.
Every employee receives an extensive benefits package, an extra day’s
pay on his or her birthday (and a free lunch), a free turkey at Christmas,
and a box of chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Perhaps more important is
the sentiment behind these gestures. ‘‘You give more naturally, not be-
cause you feel obligated to... You feel that they care for you, so you
have to care for them too,’’ notes an employee.
At many companies, those who put in sixty-hour weeks are ‘‘encour-
aged’’ until they burn out. An employee at Fel-Pro was amazed when
her boss took her aside and told her, ‘‘You are working too many hours.
We value you too much. You are getting burned out. You can take no
work home this weekend.’’ ‘‘And,’’ she adds, ‘‘they were serious!’’^24
LOVE
Love certainly has a prominent place in the Bible. Without love to
sustain them, the Hebrews could never have survived their many exiles
and sustained their commitment to their God, their land, and each
other. Without love as the cement, the disciples would have been a
group with poor ‘‘cohesion’’ and a diluted sense of mission. Indeed,
that love could help them transcend the apparent death of their leader
through the treacherous behavior of one of their own inner circle, Judas
Iscariot.
What does the Bible have to say about love?
‘‘Love is patient, love is kind, never glad about injustice. Love never
gives up... never loses faith.’’ (1 Cor. 13:4)
‘‘We could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you,
like a mother caring for her children. We loved you so much that we were