For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Mk. 10:45)
As believers we have a great advantage in learning to lead. Whether it be in the context of friendship, family or the workplace God reveals the wisest way to lead and produce lasting impact. There will never be a better way to lead than by following what Holy Spirit calling us to do, what the Scriptures show us and what Jesus put on display.
The most foundational revelation of leadership is servant-hood based humility. The main reason God places people into an authoritative role is exemplify humility and meekness. Jesus was the greatest and most influential leader this earth has ever seen, and He did not defend Himself once.
Many think that great leaders are dominant, have strong personalities, and always fight back when someone has wronged them. In the life of Christ each of these characteristics couldn’t be more opposite of who He was. He was gentle, humble willing to give His back to those who desired to strike Him. He was able to do this because He was confident in who He was before His Father and understood that increase, as well as vengeance, lay with His Father. Many have made the mistakes they do in leadership because they do not trust God to grow their influence. When ones lacks trust in God then self-promotion is the natural result. They fight to keep the influence they have. This always ends up wounding and damaging the hearts of those under leader.
We want to be those who stand confidently in God’s definition over our lives and then act out of that place of fundamental security. This is meekness. The meek are greater than the dominant in the eyes of followers because it communicates trust and human weakness in a life that has wrestled through the daily battles of sin and possible bitterness but has chosen to not give up and lean even harder into Jesus. These are the great leaders.
