The Greatest Leaders
I can still remember watching Muhammed Ali as he declared that he was the greatest. He was an incredible heavyweight fighter for sure. He didn’t lack for confidence, in fact, he may have been just a bit cocky. I remember as a kid, being a bit repulsed by his somewhat arrogant presence in front of the media. He did coin the phrase: “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The hands can’t hit what the eye can’t see”. He was also quoted as saying: “It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am”. He had a great career in boxing, but he wasn’t the greatest in my view. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, walked this earth as a human, lived a sinless life and died a sacrificial death to defeat sin and death once and for all – He is the GREATEST!
Jesus was getting His disciples prepared for His trial and His death on the cross. They couldn’t grasp it, but they did want to know which one of them was the greatest. Check this out…
24 Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. 25 Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ 26 But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. 27 Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves. (Luke 22:4-27 NLT)
I wish our leaders in Washington, in state capitols across the nation as well as the world, could grasp what a servant leader is about. It seems that we elect official with great intentions to positions of leadership at the highest levels of our government and then they are corrupted by the power they hold. I love how the Lord reminds us that the most powerful leaders serve others. It is very cool to see people who hold great power serving the least powerful around us. I understand that Jesus’ concept of leadership is a bit counter cultural to our world today, but it still works. People who lead are much more effective if they remember that their leadership position is really a serving position.
Every chance I get, I remind my fellow REALTORS that our job is a serving position. We serve buyers and sellers and NOT ourselves. The late Zig Ziglar was famous for saying, “If you help enough other people get what they want, then you’ll get what you want.” As I follow the Lord with my life, I find greater joy in serving others. I have been the recipient of people who serve others and my life has been forever changed. This servant leadership is how the Lord calls His followers to lead.
Pressing On!
Dwayne