In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 (ESV)
I once heard a true story about Johnny, a young man with Down syndrome who worked as a grocery store bagger. When Johnny and his coworkers were challenged to improve customer service, Johnny decided to bring little printed sayings to work so he could sneak one into each customer’s grocery bag.
Soon the line of people at the till where Johnny bagged became consistently longer than the other lines. Even when given the opportunity to move to a shorter line, many would stay. One lady commented that she used to come to the store once a week but now she came two to three times just to see the smile on Johnny’s face when he dropped in his favourite quote!
Johnny spurred the rest of the team to action. The florist began gathering broken flowers to pin on elderly ladies and the butcher could be heard laughing with his customers about the Snoopy stickers he placed on his meat packages. Regardless of his position, Johnny was a leader—through influence.
John Maxwell has been known to say “Leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less.” Johnny influenced his coworkers to help make the lives of their customers richer—and he did it with something incredibly simple.
Whether you realize it or not, you have influence. Don’t write yourself off, thinking you are not a leader. Today, how can you “let your light shine” (Matthew 5:16, ESV)?