Picking the Jockeys

Raymond Harris, Senior Fellow for Entrepreneurship, delivered this speech as the keynote address for the Christian Leadership Summit at Dallas Baptist University on Thursday, April 18, 2024.

I've entitled my talk Picking the Jockeys. It is one of my favorite phrases attributed to Ross Perot who said, "I pick the jockeys and let the jockeys pick the horses, and ride them." So what is it about leadership anyway? Leadership in organizations, the marketplace or in ministry is about selecting or being the right jockey.

When I invest in God's kingdom, either for profit or not-for-profit, I look for the right jockey and invest in him/her. I don't invest in what they do, but who they are and who they are to become in God's kingdom – just like Ross Perot and better, just as Samuel selected young King David by God's anointing.

Tonight I would like to share my candid thoughts about the most important task for jockeys working within God's kingdom: Enacting righteousness and justice. Why righteousness and justice, you may ask?

Righteousness and Justice are the Foundation of God's Throne

In the Proverbs and the Psalms, you may remember that righteousness and justice are the foundation of God's throne. You may also recall that Solomon asked the Lord for two things as he became the ruler of Israel. It is commemorated in Psalm 72 which says,

"Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!" (Psalm 72:1-2)

You may also remember that Solomon did not ask for great wealth but instead asked for the ability to lead the people of Israel with wisdom. This wisdom included enacting righteousness and justice in his kingdom according to Proverbs 8:20.

Solomon exhorted us to be attentive to wisdom given by the Lord, which is stored for the upright, guarding the paths of justice and watching over his saints. You will then understand righteousness and justice as wisdom comes into your heart. (Proverbs 2:1-10)

As I've studied the Psalms and Proverbs, I've noticed that the authors combine righteousness and justice together so many times that it became a bright light to me in the scriptures. They seem to be sisters in scripture.

God Loves Righteousness

God loves righteousness. He is the God of righteousness and He wants it demonstrated throughout His kingdom. We are agents of His righteousness as the hands and feet of Christ. You may remember Matthew writing in his gospel "to seek first the kingdom and his righteousness and all will be supplied". (Matthew 6:33) Jesus also spoke to a crowd and said "hunger and thirst after righteousness" even if you are persecuted for this righteousness. It was counter cultural then, and it is certainly today.

Wow! Can you think of anything a leader (or a jockey) is to do more than to seek after God's righteousness?

As a leader, why is righteousness so important? We are told in Proverbs that when the righteous rule, the city will prosper. In other words, when righteousness prevails there is human flourishing all around those leaders. Proverbs 11:10 says, "When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are great shouts of gladness. By the blessing of the upright, a city is exalted but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown." (Proverbs 11:11-12)

Righteous People

Who are good examples of righteous people in the Bible? I would like to draw upon some who you may not have thought about – righteous leadership among "the least".

The righteous act of stewardship by the widow in the temple gives me chills every time. During biblical times women were treated as second class citizens, yet Jesus honored these common women and used their example for us to follow.

The Widow

In the spirit of faithfulness, the poor widow quietly went up to the temple and placed an offering of two small copper coins in the temple treasury. Jesus noticed. Think of the implications that Jesus noticed! He immortalized her righteousness by saying that she gave more than all the others. By kingdom standards, no one could have given more – the totality of her earthly security and all she had to live on. This act of righteousness done with no clue that the son of God was watching.

Anointing by Women

Then there is the woman who anointed Jesus with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume. Few examples can match this righteous and extravagant generosity. All four gospels tell of a woman anointing Jesus. One of them says the perfume cost a year's wage, probably $20,000 in current value. One account tells of the woman breaking the flask as she poured the perfume over Jesus's head anointing His body before a pending burial that she could not have known was eminent.

Another woman, broken and known for her sin, performed an extraordinary act of righteous humility. In deep gratitude, she wept at the feet of Jesus, wiping His feet with her hair after soaking them with her tears. Kissing His feet was an act of righteous worship that required shameless abandon in the presence of other self-righteous critics.

These women gave their hearts and resources to honor the Lord. When we look at these righteous women as examples, we see that they made everything available for the kingdom. Nothing was saved, held back, hoarded or even "stewarded". The giving of themselves demonstrated their total dedication while performing these righteous acts.

God's Upside-Down Economy

We can learn about righteousness from the most unlikely people – the "least of these" Those poor and low in society have a lot to teach us about leadership.

In God's upside-down economy, He uses the "least of these" and "the poor" to demonstrate true eternal righteousness. If "the least-of these" are so important to the Lord, then I think our leadership should always be focused on taking care of them. This is one of the most important focuses of any business or ministry. As a sidenote I remember to honor "the least" in our society by tipping the maids in the hotel room, uber drivers, the porters or janitors in the airport bathrooms. I try to tip those guys well because in God's upside-down economy, you never know: I may be working for them someday in heaven.

Dealing with Others

As leaders of righteousness and justice we must be motivated by love. I am convinced that the most important business principle is the golden rule – loving others. This love is demonstrated by doing what is best for the other guy rather than yourself. Think of contract negotiations from the other side of the table. What is really best for that other person. Can you live with that when you negotiate?

How we deal with our colleagues, employees, vendors, customers and clients should be marked by God's righteous love. This can be demonstrated by gratitude and generosity.

Facts about Righteousness as the Jockey Mounts the Horse

Don't think that you have a righteousness of your own. Only the Lord is righteous. Since we do not have a righteousness of our own, God bestows upon us, His own righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "for our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

This righteousness is a gift. We are made righteous only through the life of Christ because of His obedience to the Father. (Romans 5:17). We take on godly character by abiding in Jesus as we walk humbly with Him in obedience to the Holy Spirit.

It's really important to understand what I am about to say: Our works on earth develop our righteousness, but do not provide our righteousness.

The more we do good works, the more we develop the character of righteousness. As I've said before, Jesus wanted us to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" and I am so comforted to know that the Lord will lead me in the paths of righteousness according to Psalm 23:3. So righteousness is truly a gift from God that we work to integrate into our daily behavior by walking in the spirit.

Leading with Righteousness and Justice

How do we practically develop righteousness and justice in our leadership? There is definitely a relationship between doing good that bears good fruit and becoming men and women of righteous character. The relationship between doing and becoming goes in both directions just as the door in a commercial kitchen goes both ways. Our right actions bear fruit to develop our righteous character. Our righteous character motivates us to preform right deeds.

Let me conclude by telling you a story of how justice was enacted in the marketplace. This is a story of my favorite jockey.

A Jewelry Company

Before I officially met Jenny McGee, I was sitting in a business seminar in Beijing in 2010. Jenny's coworker sat down next to me and asked if she could share a unique business that Jenny had founded. As I listened, I was fascinated to learn of a jewelry company that Jenny had started to help women who had been exploited in the sex industry. I learned how they made and profitably sold jewelry while employing women from local brothels. Two days later, I met Jenny.

As Jenny walked the streets, she prayed for opportunities to share the love of Jesus. While walking by massage parlors and brothels, she noticed women who really pulled on her heart. She often thought to herself, What can I do to help them? Sometimes she would go in with the hope of becoming their friend. Being a creative, she thought, Can we do something about this? Maybe we can make jewelry with their help.

Fast-forward fifteen years. Jenny's Starfish Project is a high-quality boutique jewelry business producing for the world's largest fair-trade accessories brands. Jenny's Starfish Project jewelry is sold by Kohl's and even sold fifty thousand units on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Starfish Project also makes jewelry for other companies under their own brand names.

Jenny has now employed over two hundred women who have come out of sexual trafficking and exploitation. But far beyond just getting a job, these precious women now have help, housing, support, and hope. By building this friendship community, survivors can work together, sort out their lives, and become truly successful.

To further their training, Jenny offers them the opportunity not only to make jewelry but also to learn Microsoft software and become skilled in computer applications useful in the mainstream office workforce. And many, after they have healed, go on to marry and have children of their own. What a phenomenal success story! Ironically, Jenny also built friendships with several madams in the brothels, bringing them out to work at Starfish Project.

While many anti-trafficking organizations were struggling to survive in Asia, Jenny built an economic engine to take care of these women while sharing the love of Jesus. Her business became sustainable when she developed a legitimate, profitable business that affected several levels of society, penetrating the business market, the employment market, and even the brothels. She may be one of the remaining anti-trafficking organizations in this part of Asia.

Conclusion

If you hear nothing else I say, know that righteousness and justice are important to God. As servant leaders selecting the jockeys we are to enact righteousness so that those around us can flourish. We are to provide justice to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves, so they too can experience the abundant life.

Building your leadership around righteousness and justice will provide a light for those who are in darkness, or those who need to be rescued, or those who need to be uplifted!

DBU is one of the last lights on the hill. Many of its graduates are righteous jockeys for the days ahead. Jesus said, "let your light shine before men in such a way that they see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven." May you do so with righteousness and justice, because blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times! (Psalm 106:3)