The Tribune

AT A recent event hosted for those in the public service it was my honour to be invited to bring a religious perspective to the topic given to the three panellists: “Service to Self vs Service to others: Ethics in the Public Sector”.

My approach was that there is a blessing to understanding that a broader vision is most beneficial to go beyond putting service to others alongside service to self. It brings to mind the story of three men on the same construction site: one just sees himself building a wall, the second describes his task as that of erecting a building, while the third is inspired by the fact that he is helping to construct a cathedral.

Members of the public sector are assisting with the creation of a great nation which needs to be founded on justice and integrity of character. In this way, no one person’s contribution is insignificant. Each attitude counts. If they give their best to residents, citizens and tourists alike, they minimise the frustration which often is the result of an encounter with bureaucracy.

It is imperative that civil servants resist the temptation to be selfish, self-serving, and egotistical, seeking immediate returns versus the delayed gratification of national development. They need to resist the following: laziness, apathy, mediocrity, accepting payoffs, “raising skirts (females) or shirts (males)” to get promoted. They are to take no part in lies, deceit, and corruption that betray the national interest.

It calls for us all to work together as a team to build up rather than tear down, promote prosperity and progress, and not sabotage our success as a people.

If, as Dr Myles Munroe is quoted as saying, “love what you do and you won’t work a day in your life”, then we may almost want to pay others to let us show up for work and to be included in the privilege of nation building!

The broader vision requires being motivated by personal accountability to the highest authority (God). It means not merely working for wages, but rather displaying the willingness to go beyond the call of duty, aiming for excellence by “raising the bar”.

Like the stewardess who spoke of extraordinary patience with an inebriated passenger as the result of “working for the Lord not merely for the airline”, we are all called to prepare the moral and spiritual way for the generations to come with our faithfulness.

For those who embrace the Christian faith, then there is no question that we serve God first, others next and ourselves after this, balancing this with the commandment to love God first, and love our neighbours as we love ourselves. For those who endorse the position taken by Dr Martin Luther King, Jr (as quoted by Dr David Allen) – “death is a comma, not a period, in the sentence of life” – this involves eternal life broadest vision of all.

At times, love will entail a variety of approaches: tough and tender love, following rules, making necessary exceptions, allowing compassion to undergird decisions and displaying humane attitudes in the midst of what can easily become inhumane treatment.

In the final analysis, service to others ultimately serves the good of the individual as we find joy and peace in being our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.