Many of us spend our entire lives on earth trying to hop ladders so we can get on top of one of them. That is what success is to us. That is what we are taught to do in our homes, schools, and even our workplaces. Don't be yourself as a kid just be who I want you to be. Don't you dare be second best in school. Cheat, take steroids, get a surgery, just do whatever it takes to be #1. Then for adults it is that same attitude of, do whatever it takes to get noticed and promoted. It can go in all different directions from here. It can go to lying, to slander, to adultery, even to the point of neglecting the people we love.
Do you know why? The American Dream. That is it in a nutshell. We should be thankful that we live in a country in which we can all make it. We can make it to the top if we are willing to pay the price that it takes. But don't you ever think that is the key to happiness or the key to becoming a great leader.
Now lets go back 2000 years. Lets go back to the person who paid the price to give us our ultimate freedom. He had a group of followers that he was giving a leadership lesson to. These men were known as his disciples..12 of them (pretty interesting guys, read about them), that had a very bad misconception about success. My honest opinion is that they had a good reason to have that misconception. You see they had been taught all of their lives that you get to the top no matter what. Whatever ladder you are climbing then get to the top of it. Now they thought they were about to be on the most powerful ladder, the one with the most success and power that any Jew could have. They thought Jesus came to rescue the Jews from Rome. If that happens then they would be next in charge. Look at the story.
Mt 20:20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
Mt 20:21 “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
Mt 20:22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered.
Mt 20:23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
Mt 20:24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.
Mt 20:25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Mt 20:26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
Mt 20:27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—
Mt 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The principle, the thing that we must apply is this..we have to become last. Do you know what Jesus does in this statement. He shatters all of what the American Dream is all about. He takes this thing that is the very reason we get our education, the very reason we go the extra mile at work, the very reason we go ten years to college and he shatters it with one statement. You think that being a great leader is being on top of that ladder then you are wrong. If we want to be great leaders then we have learn how to serve others. Man I didn't go to school to hear that. I wanted to be boss and now Jesus turns this thing upside down.
Now how do we apply that in our lives. Start simple..start with your spouse. Serve him/her and quit being a taker. Let them make decisions and feel important. Then go to your children and serve them. You are called to be a leader in your home. It doesn't matter if you are Mom, Dad, or older brother/sister you are called to lead somebody in your family. The best way to lead them is by serving them according to what Jesus said here.
It moves from the home to the workplaces and to the churches. The way to lead anybody is by serving them. The thing that is so hard is that we have to serve them no matter who they are or what they have done. Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just perch up on top of that ladder that we took all of our lives to climb and then tell people what to do. That is a whole lot easier because up their I don't have to know you and I don't have to touch you and I don't have to deal with your problems. Up their nothing gets relational. Up on top of that ladder I am untouchable and I am in charge. What Jesus was saying is this....up their on top of that ladder..you are very unsuccessful in leading people. Get down to bottom rung and serve people..that is what leadership is about...that is very upside down in the world we live in.
THE QUESTION IS THIS .....ARE YOU SERVING THE PEOPLE THAT HE HAS PUT IN YOUR LIFE? IT COMES DOWN TO THIS..YOU ARE EITHER SERVING OTHERS OR YOU FEEL LIKE YOU OUGHT TO BE SERVED BY OTHERS.
This is Thursday and last night after Brian and I got back from Six Flags, he was in one foul mood. His little sister was bugging him to death and he was just downright moody. I went to his room to break up the fight and I ask him what the problem was. His response was that she was just following him everywhere he went. She Want quit following me. I ask him and reminded him of the fact that he spent the last two days on my heals and it was as if I couldn't breath because he was following so close. He then told me something that I will remember the rest of my life. After I ask him what the difference was in her following him and him following me he said this, "You don't mind me following you." What he was saying was that he was selfish enough not want his sister to follow him and I didn't have that attitude with him. Leadership is all about the right attitude. If you don't have a servant attitude then people will get on your nerves and you will hurt them.
You see in being a Pastor, I ask a lot of people to follow me..my vision, my plans, my goals and it goes on and on. When they don't follow just right then they are the blame...don't we all do that. If something goes wrong with the business or the church it is the followers fault. What I learned last night was that it all depended on the attitude of the leader. Brian had a bad one and I for once had the good one. That is not always the case for me. Sometimes I want people to follow me because of my position, after all I climbed that ladder. Jesus says serve them and you will become great. It is all about the attitude of the leader.
Mt 20:26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
Mt 20:27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—
Mt 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Do have the same servant leadership attitude that Jesus had and says that we need? That is kind of a tough pill to swallow. But when we don't LEAD WITH A SERVANTS ATTITUDE , we place ourselves in a higher position than Jesus did and eventually you look behind you and no body is following. That becomes very dangerous grounds for us. The simple thing to do and the simple way to apply this is just to be a servant. Start at home
thanks for the insights. Great teaching.
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