Living in the Spirit
October 21, 2018
Scripture Reading: Mark 10:35-45
When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, ‘You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’—Mark 10:41-45
Servanthood is a role of leadership. A leader’s task is to maximize the talents and skills of the people with whom the leader works whether it be in a business, a church, or the government. Jesus modeled the role of servant-leader well. I fear we have lost that role among leaders who are more concerned about their own aggrandizement or selfish gain. I fear the model of the self-serving leader is gaining ground.
When I was a child, granted I was a child a long time ago, we played a game called King off the Mountain. The goal of the game was for someone to climb onto some sort of risen area and have someone else try to push them off. If that person succeeded, he or she became King on the Mountain and the next persons attempted to push them off. The goal, of course, was to see how long one person could stay at the top. It is a game that can get violent and I hope it is no longer played. What it illustrates is important. People who invest most of their time in trying to be on the top of the Mountain rarely get anything of worth done and they may hurt a lot of other people in the process.
I do see the servant-leader in our world today sometimes in unusual places. People who play on sports teams to succeed must recognize the skills and help to grow everyone’s abilities if they wish to win games. Recently, we observed rescues from hurricane damage and floods that were totally dependent on highly skilled servant-leaders. Soldiers recognize the need for servant-leadership.
Most of us find ourselves in the role of leader at some point in life. Are we modeling the servant-leadership Jesus practiced? Do we support leaders who follow Jesus’ example or are we caught in the trap of seeking only what seems best for ourselves?
Prayer: Lord, help me be a servant-leader following in your footsteps. Amen.