How, Why, Do you Lead?

Matthew 20:20-28

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

²¹ “What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

²² “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

²³ Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

²⁴ When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. ²⁵ Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2020:%2020%20-28&version=NIV1984)

How many of us have asked God for something not knowing what we had asked for?  In this case I have to wonder if these two brothers put their mother up to this.  It is apparent that they were there when she made her request. 

Looking at another servant of Christ, I had to think of His mother.  Once she accepted the fact that she was going to be the mother of the Christ she sang a song, as recorded in  Luke 1:46 – 55,

 ⁴⁶ And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord ⁴⁷     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 
⁴⁸ for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant. 
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201:%2046%20-%2048&version=NIV1984)

There is just a hint in there for me that tells me that she thought this was pretty cool, people would call her blessed for all generations.  Part of me at this point makes me wonder if she would have realized that she would have to endure the agony of watching her first born be beaten and hang on the cross, could she have sung this song.  Would she have wanted to be the mother of Jesus?  I believe she would have simply,  because God chose her.   She might have been asking a lot more “why” questions though.  God knew she would endure the pain and He knew she would remain humble when He displayed His greatness.

What are the qualities we find in someone who will be great in the kingdom of Heaven?

1.      SERVANT

2.      SLAVE

3.      SACRIFICE

Ouch, that hurt!  Look closely at what Jesus is telling us to be.  If we truly love Him, we will truly love others.  If we truly love others we will do anything for them.  We will serve them, as Jesus did.  He wasn’t too busy to stop and touch a child or take time to tell a bleeding woman that she was healed.  He went out of His way to help those in need.  He sat and visited with a lady that was not from His culture and even lower, a woman who slept with many men.  Yet today we seem to get so caught up in life that we do not have time to be a servant to the “lesser ones”.  We are too busy trying to make ourselves look great, just like the two disciples.  They gave up their life and they wanted something in return.  We are the same way today.  We all have asked or thought, “What’s in it for me?”  What is in it for us is what happened on the cross that Jesus died on and the empty tomb that He was resurrected from!  We have already gotten more than we deserve.

To try to put this in a perspective that maybe we can understand, let’s look at the workplace.  I don’t know if any of you have experienced a boss that was demanding of you.  That told you how you would act, what you would do, and expected much from you but they would not pick up a broom and sweep the floor themselves.  For sure they would not clean a toilet.  They could bark out the orders but they couldn’t live by their own commands.  Not many of us liked or would like to work in a situation like that, would we? 

Jesus, God incarnate, could have come down from Heaven as God and started taking over this earth.  He could have barked out orders and caused people to bow to Him and Him alone.  He could have destroyed all the pharisees in the blink of an eye.  He could have commanded that He was in charge and that no one was to question Him or His actions.  Yet, He came as a helpless child, humbled Himself as a child being raised in a carpenters home.  When He tried to tell His home church that He was the Christ, they rejected Him, ridiculed Him.  He went out from there and performed many miracles and yet the people once again turned on Him and He found Himself on a cross.  Did you hear Him grumble and complain?  He loved them so much that He was willing to be a sacrifice for them.  He loved us so much that before we were ever born, He was willing to be a sacrifice for us. 

Yet, we are here trying to be greater than the next person, just like the disciples.  We try to earn the right spot in the eyes of people.  If you are a leader in a church, whether it is the pope, a bishop or district leader, a pastor, a priest, an elder, a deacon, a Sunday school teacher,  and the list goes on, I have to ask, why are you in leadership?  Are you there because of Him or are you there because of you?  Are you willing to be a servant to those who God has entrusted into your care or are you there because you want your ideas to be known and followed through?  Do you feel burdened because of all the work you have to do in the church?  Do you lead to have servants or do you serve in order to lead?  Those are questions that we must all ask ourselves when we take on a position in a church.   It is vitally important that we lead by the example of Christ who took on all of our burdens in order bring a way of salvation to all. 

One person that lived during my life time that exemplifies a true servant of God was Mother Teresa.  She humbled herself to help others, she became poor to be a servant to the poor.  Although I am not Catholic, I believe Mother Teresa is going to be well in front of the line that was mentioned in the blog prior to this one.  I have heard those who have met her speak of the love that radiated from her eyes. She never wanted the publicity that she received, she never expected to be one of the most influential women in this world, she just wanted to serve and serve she did. 

If you are not in leadership in a local church that does not exempt you from being a servant.  Maybe you are at a period in your life when you need someone to serve you but there will come a time when you need to be the servant.  As you grow in the knowledge of your Lord Jesus Christ you will find yourself being served less and serving more. 

As you seek Him may you find yourself being more of a servant for the One who was servant to all and Lord of all.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila