Devotional: Servant Leadership

Written by Claire Tippett

Illustrated by Claire Tippett

“It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” - Matthew 20: 26-28

To give a little context to this passage, the disciples have just been arguing together about who should have the honor of sitting next to Jesus at his right and left hand. Jesus rebukes them for this saying that they are acting like the gentiles, all looking for their own personal glory. Then Jesus says something really backwards, he explains that among them, and among us today, to be great is to serve others. This is totally backwards from everything our world today tells us. We are told to love ourselves, that we should do what we like, what we think is best, but that’s not what Jesus wants for us. He wants us to serve and to put others before ourselves.

Applying this principle doesn’t just mean changing actions but changing our attitude from self centered to altruistic (other centered). This isn’t easy, it takes practice, but we have a perfect example to follow in Jesus.

Servant leadership can mean many different things. Maybe it means being not just a leader but a participant in everything your team is doing. Maybe it means doing all the hardest jobs without complaining, having empathy for the people around you, being collaborative, or being accountable. All of these things can help you become a better servant leader, however, all of these things must be done for the right motive. Serving, so that you can earn the applause of others is no good at all. We should look at serving, and everything else we are commanded to do as something we do in response to what Jesus has already done for us. We act in gratitude and because we want to see God’s kingdom lived out on Earth.

On a daily basis, there are a number of things you can do to be a servant leader. Something you can do that is really easy simply is doing any small jobs that need doing. For example, helping a teacher hand something out, going to get something from the office or picking something dropped from off the floor. These seemingly small things are a great way to start practicing serving like Jesus calls us to. I’ve found, the more you do things like this, the easier it gets and the more willing you are to give. Serving like this is really important not only because we are doing as Jesus commanded us to but because in serving without complaining we are setting an example to others and gradually we can build a community that models what Jesus calls us to when he commanded us to love one another. So, let me challenge you today to lead by serving others, as Jesus has called us to.