The Observer (Kampala)
Anne Mugisha
3 December 2008
opinion
How many times have we heard the 'bush' mantra: "We fought"? It usually precedes a ridiculous ransom demand targeting the poor Ugandan electorate. The law of sacrifice as explained by John C. Maxwell is not about blackmailing people; it is about giving up freely what is good for you in order to dedicate yourself to what is best for all.
"Every person who has achieved any success in life has made sacrifices to do so...Life is a series of trades, one thing for another. Leaders must give up to go up. That's true of every leader regardless of profession."
"The art of leadership is putting others ahead of yourself...For that reason...leaders have to give up their rights. As you rise in leadership, responsibilities increase and rights decrease. When you have no responsibilities, you can do pretty much anything you want. Once you take on responsibility, you start to experience limitations in what you can do. The more responsibility you accept, the fewer options you have. Leaders must be willing to give up more than the people they lead. Many give up aspects of their personal lives. Some like King (Martin Luther II), give their actual lives."
Perhaps the hardest lesson in this chapter for our rulers would be appreciating the fact that sacrifices are not a one-time, start-up project. There seems to be a misconception that owing to their initial sacrifice (read: 'going to the bush'), they earned the right to stop making sacrifices--nope! Sacrifice is an on-going process, not a one-time payment.
"The only way to stay up is to give up more. Leadership success requires continual change, constant improvement, and ongoing sacrifice." Moreover, the higher the level of leadership, the greater the sacrifice.
Perhaps the most pertinent lesson for us all is that we will not always be around to witness the fruits of our sacrifice. "And... even if you don't witness the success, you can be sure that someone in the future will benefit from what you've given. That was certainly true for Martin Luther King Jr."
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks left the department store where she worked, got on the same bus as she did every night and sat in the "black section" at the back of the bus. When the bus became full, the driver instructed Rosa to give up her seat to a white person. She refused and was arrested by the Police. She was found guilty of violating the segregation law and fined. After consulting friends and family, she decided to become a test case knowing it would result in persecution by the white authorities. Parks was immediately sacked from her tailoring job with Montgomery Fair.
Martin Luther King (MLK), a pastor at the local Baptist Church, agreed to help organise protests against bus segregation. Black people in Montgomery would refuse to use the buses until passengers were completely integrated. That was the start of a movement that used boycotts, litigation, rallies, sermons, speeches, and other forms of advocacy to bring about change in America. Within 13 months of the bus boycott, the US Supreme Court struck down the laws allowing segregated sitting on buses.
As a leader in the movement, MLK started paying a personal price that increased with his influence. Soon after the Montgomery bus boycott began, "King was arrested for a minor traffic violation. A bomb was thrown onto his porch. And he was indicted on a charge of being a party to a conspiracy to hinder and prevent the operation of business without 'just or legal cause.' King was emerging as a leader but he was paying a price for it."
"As King's influence spread, he met presidents, delivered rousing speeches, led a 250,000 peace march on Washington DC and even received a Nobel Peace Prize. But the law of sacrifice demands 'the greater the leader the more he must give'. During that same period King was arrested many times and jailed on many occasions. He was stoned, stabbed, and physically attacked. His house was bombed. Yet his vision--and his influence--continued to increase...But what he gave up he parted with willingly. In his last speech, delivered the night before he was assassinated in Memphis, he said: 'I do not know what will happen to me now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter to me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. I won't mind. Like anybody else, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain.
And I've looked over and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight...I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. The next day he paid the ultimate price of sacrifice."
Martin Luther King did not live to see most of the benefits of his sacrifices, but many others have--ask Obama!
Anne Mugisha, The author is a Special Envoy, Office of the President, FDC.
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