As a person that considers himself to be a leader, I think I often forget what being a leader means. Leadership may include making decisions. It may include telling people what to do, or how to do something. It may mean having responsibility to guide people under your care. But the first thing a leader must be is a servant. This means you have to love those you are leading. You have to consider them as more important than yourself.
I feel as if my selfishness and laziness keeps getting pushed in my face as I study the word of God. I am a person that wants what I want when I want it. I am also a person that does not want to work hard at getting what I want. I want to find the least path of resistance. I want to pick the lowest fruit on the tree.
That is not what a servant leader does. A servant leader does whatever is needed to meet the (true) needs of the person they are trying to lead. This means genuinely caring for those people. It means leading by example.
In order to do this, I have to be spiritually connect with God. I cannot love and serve others unless I am focused on Jesus. I have to be willing to go the extra mile. I have to be willing to climb the tree and pick the fruit that is too high for me to reach. Jesus came to this earth to serve. He lived a life of service. He was followed by people all the time. Jesus did not get annoyed with them, he healed them. He had compassion on them.
Am I a servant leader? I pray that I am.
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