TODAY IS…

an excellent day to be last.

“Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all.’”  Mark 9:35 NASB

Leadership that is born of arrogance is not leadership at all.

Nor is leadership that is accompanied by an attitude of superiority.

These attitudes deliver the wrong message and speak more to an individual’s need for power and self-gratification than to a genuine desire to guide people to a better place in life, or to help people attain their goals.

True leadership was demonstrated perfectly by Christ, who constantly exhibited humility and a desire to serve the needs of others. He not only used His example to teach others, He was also very specific about what was required to be a leader.

After making the observation that, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people,” He went on to tell His disciples, “But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you must take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.” (Luke 22:26 NLT).

A true leader does what is best for all, not what is desired by themselves or what is expedient. One who wants to assume a position of leadership must be prepared to forsake their own needs or desires in order to focus on the needs of those they wish to lead.

When service to others is our motivation, we may discover ourselves attaining a position of leadership that was not sought. It may not even be particularly welcome or wanted, but true service to others sets such a Christ-like example that those who are being served will grow to look up to and, ultimately, follow us as time goes on. We must not shrink or shy away from this. We must ask God to be our guide and continue to serve others with humility and the love that exemplifies those who follow Christ.

For those who seek to be leaders, it is important to remember the teachings of the greatest leader to ever walk the earth. Christ’s method of leadership has to be perfect because He was perfect, so if Christ was compassionate, and if He was just and good, then those should be considered good traits, should they not?

As the King of Creation, Christ could have employed any style of leadership He chose, and He chose to be a humble servant to those He led. We must put ourselves last, but if it is good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for any one of us.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson