“Respect Vs Fear” And The Winner Is ?

“Non ut sibi ministretur sed ut ministret~Not to be served but to Serve” but the question Remains, By what Means?

“He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave~Andrew Carnegie”
Some matters arise and I do my best to find a distinction. Of such matters one is the idea of Respect and Fear .

Man has since the beginning of time been charged with responsibility. This cuts across caring for his land, his animals but also the general welfare of those under his charge.

Historians tends to dwell on Result and not Method. For many it is the aftermath that they Keenly anticipate and not the process or road taken in the achievement of such result.

I have asked my self about which style of leadership produces the best result ,is it Leadership driven by Respect or that which is By Fear?

Respect as I have been taught my whole life is earned and cannot be forced on people. Leaders in history that have been successful through respect have been able to accomplish a lot but when we come to think of it , how does one earn the respect of his comrades?

The Bible gives conditions on how Respect can be Earned in 1 Timothy 3:8
“In like manner the deacons [must be] worthy of respect, not shifty and double- talkers but sincere in what they say, not given to much wine, not greedy for base gain [craving wealth and resorting to ignoble and dishonest methods of getting it].”

Fear is a feeling of anxiety or worry towards an event or person , so why then is it regarded as a powerful tool in Leadership .

Like respect ,Fear has also been the chosen method of motivation adopted by many leaders in history. Even the Bible states that ” the Fear of The Lord is The Beginning of Wisdom” not taking this verse of scripture so literally other instances can be found in the bible as illustrations such as the parable of the Talent when the Last Slave failed to Invest his Masters money for Fear of what the master might have done to him.

For man it is stated that his “Reputation precedes him” . This make me wonder-ponder upon which man I would rather be ; A Man Respected Or A Man Feared.

Niccolo Machiavelli a great political Strategist while speaking on the matter says ;
“Here the question arises; whether it is better to be loved than feared or feared than loved. The answer is that it would be desirable to be both but, since that is difficult, it is much safer to be feared than to be loved, if one must choose. For Men have less hesitation in offending a man who is loved than one who is feared, for love is held by a bond of obligation which, as men are wicked, is broken whenever personal advantage suggest it, but fear is accompanied by the dread of punishment which never relaxes.”

“A peace that comes from fear and not from the heart is the opposite of peace~Gersonides“. Respect we see comes from the heart but then how many men have hearts or can appreciate the purity of the virtuous heart. Man has become a scale that falls to the side of gold and not justice and so his respect can be priced and purchased.

In the presence of such people Peace is only for a time; as long as the income is sustained for if this should change they loose all forms of respect ;Such men I regard as Mercenaries.

This I believe is a topic that should be of interest to all young aspiring leaders and I hope to get positive feedback from you where ever you are . “Remember that The only way to rewrite the future is to read about the past and to navigate through the present~Odera “