Forget About Who Gets the Credit

Forget About Who Gets the Credit

It is simply amazing what we can accomplish if we do not care who receives credits.  In many communities of faith and community service organizations, arguments and rifts occur because people who actually work hard fail to receive due credit.  Sometimes, people absolutely refuse to participate in charitable and fundraising projects unless they will receive praise for their efforts.  This egotistical approach to service undermines the mission of many organizations. 

Personally, I confess to having been obsessed with receiving credit for my tireless and painstaking efforts in assisting a ministerial alliance advocate for its collective congregations.  I wanted everyone to know that I did the work.  I sought praise and appreciation for my intelligence, discipline and contributions.  At that point in my spiritual development, my emaciated ego fiercely demanded public recognition.  I criticized my colleagues for our failure to do more for the people whom we represented and served.  Reflecting years later, I now realize that I should have subordinated my need for affirmation to the greater good of helping people.  Had I simply been humble, I would have done anything needed to help people and allow others to take as much credit as they needed.  I would have focused on the overriding purpose of helping people who cannot speak for themselves.  Regrettably, I now see how much more could have been done had I simply deflated my ego!

History ultimately reveals the truth regarding the choices and actions of people.  In the Civil Rights Movement of which the Montgomery Bus Boycott was a seminal event, several influential people stood in the shadows of more charismatic personalities.  Though the church men received the credit for the boycott through the Montgomery Improvement Association, church women had been meeting beforehand in church basements.  Recognizing the necessity of submitting to male leadership of the movement, these women humbly advocated in the shadows of their husbands and relatives.  The contemporary light of history removes that shadow and exposes the incalculable contribution of these women to helping the country fulfill its grand ideals of democracy.  Additionally, Rosa Parks was not the first and only Black woman to refuse to give her seat to a White passenger on Montgomery’s segregated buses.  Parks was the most appropriate for the purposes of the movement.  An unwed mother who had had a child who refused to give up her seat a week before Parks.  However glacially, history recognizes the sacrifices and efforts of that woman and those church women.

Had I merely written the memoranda and letters and allowed someone else to sign them, the senior clergy in the alliance would not have opposed my efforts.  Had I consulted with them before sending any correspondence, they would not have felt disrespected by a junior colleague who was new to the town and organization.  Had I been silent at meetings and utilize the hallways and parking lot for establishing mutual trust and respect, I would have obtained their cooperation.  Had I waited to assume a place in the leadership structure rather than demand it, professionalism and skills, I would have had an opportunity to lead the organization with their consent and collaboration.  In retrospect, I appreciate the incredible power of humility, patience and deference. 

Should you be frustrated with any organization to which you belong, you may find it helpful to pause and examine whether you are a part of the problem.  Like the polar opposites of light and darkness, spirituality and an unbridled ego cannot coexist.  A voracious demand for approval and applause impedes genuine community service.  Consider working anonymously and faithfully; allowing God and history to recognize you.