AN AUTHENTIC LEADER IS A SERVANT

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 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.” —Matthew 20:25-28

How do you think our world would be different if everyone had a servant’s heart? Instead of wanting people do something for us, what if we did something for them? How about this one— instead of wanting government to do something for us (entitlements), why don’t we do something for them? Yeh, life would be different, wouldn’t it?

But the selfish nature of man desires to be served and not to serve. Countries with dictators bear this out. China, Cuba, Egypt, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Vietnam, Iran are just a few countries that rule with tyrants. Take a look at those leaders. What are they doing for the people? What are they doing for themselves? What is the motivation of their leadership?

If there was a list of the top ten tyrants of all time, Hitler would probably be in that list. A survivor of his brutal reign talks about her experience, but also gives a warning to those of us in America. Here’s what she says http://www.wnd.com/2015/01/holocaust-survivor-booted-from-public-schools/#TxUwckE81c7gUijV.01 and I hope you think about this. But when you think about tyrannical regimes we must take a hard look at what we have done to children in the womb here in the United States. We can point the finger at other countries, but look at the dastardly selfishness which, as a nation, has killed well over 50,000,000 children in the womb. As a nation, would we be in the top 10 list from God’s perspective?

Tyrants do not extend liberty to those under them. They like to be in control. They keep tabs on people. They are ever watching for people to step out of line— the line the tyrant has drawn. Here in the U.S. we have lost economic freedom. “The United States has ranked 12th in the world in economic freedom, according to an annual report compiled by the Heritage Foundation. The country remained out of the top 10, despite small improvements to its score”— http://rt.com/usa/227247-us-economic-freedom-ranking/. This should be concerning.

Jesus told His disciples in the context of the verses above to not seek to be served, but instead we are to seek to be a servant. We are to look out for the interests of other people and not just for our own interests (Philippians 2:3-4). Just gives us the top priority in being a leader when He told the disciples “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.” Wow, if world, national, state, city & town, school, church or any leader on this planet led like that— this would be a different world! Of course, it will never happen perfectly until Jesus comes back to reign. Then we will see it!

Dear Father, please help me to have a servant’s heart in Jesus’ authority.