I found this oriental Magpie robin perched in the cable in our courtyard, while a strong wind was blowing with clouds gathering in the sky, making the mid day appear to be a dusk time.
From its body posture it seemed that it was intently listening to the bird calls of another Magpie Robin perched in the tree at the boundary of the courtyard .
This engagement of the first Magpie robin reminded me of the attitude of listening and engaging! This is also the time of beginning of season of courtship for some birds. I felt enthused about the way Nehemiah, a highly placed official in the court of the king of Persia, listened to the cry of people at Jerusalem. He received a representation from his family and friends that the wall of Jerusalem was dilapidated and people who returned from exile were at a loss about their future. They felt insecure with the fear of another invasion and being taken away as captives by a foreign ruler.
The story of Nehemiah who lived around 445 BC appears in the book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Bible in 13 chapters.
Nehemiah became the governor of Judah while he was engaged in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. In the fifth chapter of this book from verses 14 to 19, there is a narration about his personal conduct and behaviour of Nehemiah.
In verse 18, Nehemiah made a personal confession: 'I did not demand the governor's food allowance, because the servitude was heavy on his people' .
A governor was eligible to claim the food allowance as per his entitlement. The earlier governors 'laid burdens in the people and took from them bread and wine beside forty shekels of silver, even their servants domineered the people..'(v15). At Nehemiah's table, '.. there were one hundred and fifty jews and officials besides those who came to us from nations that were around us' (v !7). Nehemiah applied himself to the work of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, and did not'...buy any land and all the servants were gathered for the work' (v16).
The governor, Nehemiah gave up his entitlement of food allowance from his people, because the 'servitude was heavy on his people' !
I found this attitude unusually inspiring and instructional. Nehemiah felt with his heart and responded to the voice of his soul from within. He listened to himself and the voice of God from within.
The photo of the first Magpie robin above is that of a listening attitude!
Whom do I listen to!
Nehemiah listened to the voice of God within, which prompted him to leave his job at the King's palace and join with people in Jerusalem to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem!
Nehemiah also listened to the unspoken heaviness and burden that people carried upon themselves, as people lived in servitude, demands and oppression under the previous governor !
That shows the pathway for living, for all those who are in an overseeing role in their place of work.
An overseeing person is called to be a feeling and listening person! That is what will protect an overseeing person from getting distracted with attachment to personal benefits that his position brings!
Nehemiah even gave up what was his due rights! In fact, Nehemiah abolished usury which is referred to in the fifth chapter of the book, freeing people from their bondage !
Living with a vocation of being mindful of others !
I have enough ! What I have can help others! I need less! These thoughts surface within me to dwell on!
An overseeing person is given an opportunity to serve those who are in his or her care!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
No comments:
Post a Comment