In a large aerospace company, a hundred office workers shared a single open room. One day, while working through lunch, my friend Vicky saw her co-worker Richard crawling underneath some of the desk chairs.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Lubricating the chairs,” he replied. Richard explained that the squeaky chairs got on his nerves, and rather than complain about the noise, he just took care of the problem himself.

This is Howard Butt Jr. of Laity Lodge, and I have a question for you. How often do we try to send our little squeaky problems up or down the chain for someone else to solve? Take initiative. Sometimes, there are things we can do quietly, ourselves, to improve the atmosphere for everyone. It’s the high calling of our daily work.

“Jesus said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.’ “— Luke 22:25-26