Scripture I am reflecting on: Mark 10:43-45
. . . "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."
What are the first things that pop in your head when you think of a leader? Power? Control? Wealth? Status? Respect? Who is the person who pops in your head when you think of a "leader". The President? A pastor, priest? A coach? Brad Pitt screaming "We are lions!" in Troy?
I bet there aren't many of us out there who can say "servant" was the first word that came to mind. Yet, this is exactly what Jesus tells us should be what we think of to be a leader. Jesus was the ultimate "leader." Yet, he did so in a way that seems to be contrary to our modern view of a leader. Jesus was a servant to us all. He gave his life away to serve us. This is the model we should think of when we set out to be leaders.
Reflection:
I came upon this verse in a roundabout way during some morning devotional time. I, through coincidence that could have only been the Holy Spirit, was compelled to read 1 Peter. In my reading, I was particularly stopped at 1 Peter 5:1-4. where Peter is advising the elders on how to be leaders within the Church. At this point I knew why I was compelled to read this Scripture, because I have been struggling with this topic in my head for some time now. I read the comment in my Bible on this verse, which directed me to the verses in Mark which I quoted above.
Leadership is always something that has been very intriguing, and appealing to me, for mostly the wrong reasons. I remember how happy I was whenever I was named a team captain, but not for a good reason like being someone who helped others on the team, but because of the higher status that came with the assumption of the captain. I remember always volunteering to be the leader on all of my undergraduate group projects, but not for a good reason like leading and helping the group all work together and create something positive, but because I just wanted the power to make all the decisions because I felt like I was the smartest of the bunch. When you think back on times where you were in leadership, do you feel you used this position in a positive way?
I say all this to lead into my real reason for wanting to reflect on this topic, and that is spiritual leadership. Becoming a spiritual leader is one of my primary goals for the near future, and finding this passage was as timely as it can get. Now that I am at a point where I feel rock solid in my faith, I crave the ability to now use this to become a leader in my own life, particularly within my own family, but also just in general daily life as well. Probably my main reason for starting this blog was in hopes that it may reach a few people who were in my shoes not too long ago (skeptical and "spiritual-less") I have struggled with how to accomplish this goal though. Do I seek out people to "lead". Do I find people to quote Scripture too?
I finally received my answer today, "be a servant." Or as I tend to interpret it, "set an example" "lead by example" "help out those in need". And when you truly think about this, I imagine it makes clear and perfect sense. Which do you think will have a better effect, telling someone they should pray, or doing so yourself and letting them see all the Glory that comes from doing so? I am sure you can think of better examples, but the point should ring true to us all.
What are ways we can be spiritual leaders. Sure, there are obvious ones. Go to Church, preach the Word, counsel those in need, donate to charity. But I think the more subtle areas are where we can really make our marks as Christians. Help the elderly if you see them having a problem carrying something, greet the cashier at the coffee shop with a smile, hello, and thank you when picking up your coffee, give thanks whenever someone helps you at any point of the day, and pray for them to find joy in their day. Wait some of you might be saying, what happened to the whole leadership topic? Well, I think the examples I gave are exactly the examples of leadership Jesus had in mind when talking to his disciples. We are supposed to seek out serving and helping others, and what better way to do this then in the occurrences that happened to us everyday? When someone knows your a Christian, and you are able to help them out, brighten their day, or even just give them a smile; then you have succeeded as being a Christian leader, and could very well have helped someone find their way as well.
Final Thought:
"Being a leader does not mean seeking ways to meet your own needs, but finding ways to help with the needs of others." While most of you reading this probably know this much better than myself, it seems that becoming a spiritual leader is not something that is supposed to be voluntary. We are called to be leaders, and I think that calling is of no greater importance than in our current society where morals are going by the wayside. This isn't to say that we are all supposed to become ministers. But we should always have our eyes open for a chance to be a leader, the way Jesus tells us to be. This can be anything from providing food or finances to someone, talking with someone battling with an issue, or even just guiding someone through a bad day. The lesson (I think), is to seek out opportunities, and when faced with an opportunity to be a Christian leader, to not only take the opportunity, but to be thankful for the opportunity to do so, and take joy out of accomplishing something as such a leader.
It is a privilege that we are given to have the chance to be spiritual leaders in God's name. Embrace it! Enjoy it! And in case this blog didn't really motivate you (or make any sense):
1 Peter: 3-4
"Don't lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears; you will receive a crown of never ending glory and honor."
Motivated? :)
No comments:
Post a Comment