OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL-THURSDAY-19/05/2016-THE SERVANT LEADER-BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
THE SERVANT LEADER
Memorise
If
I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.
John 13:14
Read
John 13:13-17,
13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well;
for so I am.
14 If I
then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one
another's feet.
15 For I
have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is
not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent
him.
17 If ye
know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
KJV
MESSAGE
One great
difference between servant leaders and self-serving leaders is that servant
leaders always look at leadership as an act of service, while self-serving
leaders view leadership as a high status and spend most of their time trying to
protect their status. Servant leaders would embrace and welcome feedback,
viewing it as a source of useful information on how they can provide better
service, but self-serving leaders usually respond negatively, taking a harmless
feedback as a sign of rejection. In Matthew 20:26b-28 Jesus said;
“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your
servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave just as the Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for
many.”
Servant
leadership is service to others. It is not about lobbying for a position, nor
politicking for power. Instead, it is looking for the opportunity to serve.
This is not attractive to the insecure soul in need of abundant attention.
Servant leaders avoid the limelight and serve in ways that often go unnoticed.
The little things are what make a servant leader. It may be taking out the
trash at home or making the coffee at work.
No task is too menial for the servant leader; there is
something bigger than behaviour which distinguishes a servant leader. It is an
attitude which wants to make others succeed. He knows that if those around him
are successful, then there is a good chance that he too will experience
success. He is wise to want what’s best for others.
Jesus served for the glory of God. His ultimate
service was laying down His life in love. In Matthew 10:39, our Lord Jesus who
is an example of a perfect leader says;
“He that findeth his
life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”
Any leader
that is preoccupied with personal interests, protection of status, and
preservation of positions, may not be a good ambassador of Christ. Another
thing that helps you to identify a serving leader is integrity. They usually
men and women of integrity. Proverbs 11:3 says the integrity of the righteous
provides him with direction. Being someone who wants to please God, there are
certain things he cannot do. Anything God will not be pleased with is a no-go
area for him. Being a man of integrity, he states the exact time of his arrival
in the office. In fact, everyone will strive to arrive before him knowing that
he cannot alter his arrival time. He cannot also compromise the truth. He will
not buy something for =N=100 and say he bought it for =N=500. He keeps his
promises. His word is his bond. His relationship with the opposite sex is
clean. He cannot take what does not belong to him. He has clean hands and a
pure heart. Are you a man or woman of integrity?
Prayer Point
Father, please make me a
servant leader, ever focused on your relationship principles in Jesus’ name.
Bible in one year
1st Chronicles
4:24-6:81, Proverbs 26:15-28
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