John Newton boasted that he had committed every sin possible and if there was a sin he had not committed, would someone please tell him so he could go out and commit that sin. He was a slave trader, bought and sold human beings, and killed them like animals if they were of no worth to him. At a slave auction he saw the pain of of real people. Husbands and wives and their children being torn apart and treated like cattle. He wrote in his diary that of the lowest possible human beings in the world, he was the worst. On a return trip to England, he cried out, "Lord have mercy on us" during a storm which almost sank the ship. He believed that God had saved him from the storm. He later wrote: “Amazing grace how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost and now I’m found, was blind but now I see.” Here is a history of the song.
A customer in California always invited his employee's families to a Christmas party so that he could meet and encourage them. He valued the family relationships and believed that if the spouse wasn't happy, the quality of his employee's work would suffer. Our industry is 24/7 and most of our customers did not have multiple shifts so everyone took turns working nights. So, when he got large enough, he was able to create shifts. He was pleased when one of the wives proclaimed that she appreciated having her husband home at nights and able to take his truck home. All of the drivers were able to take their trucks home at night so that they could be dispatched to the closest job from their home. They had GPS units in their vehicles so that the office could get automatic time stamps for when they left their house to go to the first job for payroll taxes.
When one of the wives called the owner at home to complain that he wasn't walking the talk and her husband was always having to work late, he was shocked. The wife said that her husband was still working and she was putting the kids to bed without seeing their dad for the 3rd straight night. The owner thanked her for calling and pulled up the dispatch board on his phone to see what job her husband was on. The employee had finished his last job before 5, but his truck was at a strip club. He called the night dispatcher and told him to get the spare key for the truck and have someone go with him to bring the truck back to the office. When the driver finally decided to leave, his truck was no longer in the parking lot! In a panic, he called in to report the truck stolen. Fortunately, he called the office instead of the police and was told that the truck was safely at the office, but he arrange for another way to get home and to the office the next day. No one at the office said anything to him, but I'm not sure what happened at home.
I believe that the litmus test for leaders is how they treat their workforce, especially the weakest and most vulnerable. How do they treat the immigrant who cleans the toilets and can't even speak their language. How does a politician treat traffickers who profiteer in human suffering and wants to donate to their campaign? How does the judge treat those who are not politically correct, but are morally correct. How does the boyfriend treat his pregnant girlfriend, or how does a officer treat the homeless vagrant? Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." The Indian culture calls it karma. St. Paul said, "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." Sometimes we do not need to draw a weapon to fight a battle. God is perfectly capable of taking care of any situation and making it all work for the good. He can change a slave trader into a minister of the gospel. He can heal a family. Often, when we see an injustice, we need to wait on God. What does He want of us? If He wants to use us, we will know. His time is not our time.