Number 7 30-May-2002
Finally
I simply gave up trying. I cut back
on the hours, stopped reading self-help books, ceased active networking,
curtailed political posturing; everything.
Everything except doing my best, that is. At around 40 I simply decided that I had played the game long
enough. Don’t get me wrong, I
still wanted to get ahead, I was simply unwilling to pay the price I perceived
it would exact. And a funny thing
happened! As I began to focus on
simply doing my best, on finding ways to be helpful to everyone, on giving
credit to others, and on humility instead of pride; I began to see much greater
success. I was more relaxed and
happy. My life was more balanced.
I gained interests outside my profession.
I got rapid-fire promotions!
None of
this should have surprised me, however. I
should have known all of this right from the start.
God’s Word told me in so many ways:
35Sitting
down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If
anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
(Mark 9:35)
Mark
10:42-45
42Jesus
called them together and said, “You
know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among
you must be your servant, 44and
whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45For
even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his
life as a ransom for many.”
This is interesting, but as men we have certain basic instincts when it comes to our families. For those of us who are married, these instincts become most visible in relation to our wives and children, but while we are single they are often strong in relation to brothers and sisters, especially if they are younger than we. We generally see ourselves as providers and protectors—whether that’s politically correct or not. Just let someone try to take advantage of, or hurt, someone in our family. Just let a family member be stranded without money or transportation. We go into action in a second; and we know exactly what to do.
This instinct to protect and provide for our loved ones and those weaker than ourselves requires that we be leaders, but it also requires that we serve. Providing is a very servant-ish thing to do; so is protecting. Servants work for the comfort and well-being of those they serve. It’s just what servants do. Who protects the President? Secret Service Agents! Who defends our country? Servicemen.
Yet somehow we often get confused about how we ought to move into leadership roles outside our family.
Now here’s the truly radical idea. Get ready for the deep water.
The Bible talks about the last being first, but it’s referring to the kingdom of heaven!
So far we have been discussing leadership and success in the world. None of the principles we have been discussing will work in the world unless it is God’s will.
In the
history of the world no one has had a greater more pervasive impact than Jesus.
Summing up the commandments of God, Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as
yourself.” This phrase is found ten times in Scripture and the idea
appears many more times. We are
even told that we are to love our enemies and bless those who curse us!
In
thinking about Jesus’ model of leadership and the commandment to love others
as ourselves, it is illuminating to examine some of the ramifications of such
conduct. The more we think about
them, the more radical we see that they are.
Jesus promoted a revolutionary leadership style. He gives us the
preeminent example of servant leadership.
Our real goal is progress in the kingdom of heaven! The idea is that everything we do should be aimed at becoming more like Christ. If that is truly our goal, all the worldly things fall into place because they cease to matter to us at all!
Think about the ramifications of that for a while.
In Romans 12:3b the Bible tells us “…Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but
rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of
faith God has given you.” And in
John 15:5b Jesus says, “…apart
from me you can do nothing.” From
this we can see how we ought to regard ourselves.
It’s not about us; it’s all about God.
He is the one who should get the glory.
Eugene
H. Peterson in his book entitled A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
quotes Karl Barth:
“In general terms, service is a willing, working, and
doing in which a person acts not according to his own purposes or plans, but
with a view to the purpose of another person and according to the need,
disposition, and direction of others. It
is an act whose freedom is limited and determined by the other’s freedom, an
act whose glory becomes increasingly greater to the extent that the doer is not
concerned about his own glory, but about the glory of the other…
It is ministerium Verbi divini, which means, literally, “a
servant’s attendance on the divine Word.”
The expression “attendance” may call to mind the fact that the New
Testament concept of Diakonos originally meant “a waiter.”
[We] must wait upon the high majesty of the divine Word, which is God
Himself as He speaks in His action.”
He goes
on to illuminate the concept of service by writing, “…if the attitude of
servanthood is learned, by attending to God as Lord, then serving others will
develop as a very natural way of life.”
In John
13:12-15 Jesus sets probably the clearest example in all of Scripture of what it
means to be a servant leader.
There
we read:
12When
he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his
place. “Do you
understand what I have done for you?”
he asked them. 13“You
call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now
that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one
another’s feet. 15I
have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
Only when our true motivation is to become like Christ and only when we see ourselves as He sees us do we truly progress. When we do that however, something really interesting happens. We become remarkable! We become so different from those around us, co-workers, other women’s husbands, the dads of our kids’ friends—everybody—that we simply stand out.
People begin to notice something appealing in us. They become drawn to us. That’s real leadership!
For many of us, the problem is that it can only be achieved through real servanthood.