Daily In The Word – March 7 – Why Servant Leadership isn’t new.
I hear stories all the time about what makes someone a good leader and almost all of the stories tell you that it is someone who goes out of their way to help their team. While this is certainly a good sentiment, I wonder why every time someone says this is a good leadership trait it seems like ‘new information’ to the public. Anyone who has been a Christian for any amount of time knows that Jesus was loved because he served his fellow disciples and the people with everything he had.In today’s reading, Jesus was dealing with the question when his disciples asked him to make them great in the kingdom. He says: “So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”(Mark 10:42-45, NLT). It is for this reason that I feel called to give of myself in any way I can to serve my fellow man. I teach because God wants me to and has gifted me as such. I help maintain a huge crop of children from my home because God has enabled me to do so. But don’t be surprised if I am not wearing the ‘hip clothes’ or have the latest TV or computer or phone. I give of myself because that is what we are supposed to do. Anyone who wants to reap blessings must first give up themselves.