Leadership

“So Jesus called them together and said, 'You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them. But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.'" Mark 10:42-45

I've never enjoyed working for someone who took pleasure in bossing people around. I've been yelled at and falsely accused. I even had one who angrily kicked my trashcan across the room. I can only assume it was an attempt to intimidate me. These are scenes that are not unique to me or our time in history as we see in our verses for the day. 

The disciples were trying to position themselves at the top of the pecking order. They were losing sight of the perfect picture of leadership they witnessed every moment they were with Jesus. He needed to get their attention. The truest of leaders serve and they willingly give up their lives for others. To further rattle their worldly thinking, he told them, "I am here to give my life."

There is a tough lesson and a strong warning to the "boss" in all of us in this scene. Eventually, the disciples figured it out and they, like Jesus, gave up their lives in service too. God may or may not ask us to die for others, but he has clearly told us that we should live to love and serve them. There is no shortage of conversations about leadership these days, just a shortage of those who are leaders like Jesus.

Grace and Peace,

Tom

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