Being a Willing, Selfless Leader

Leadership. It is something I've tried many times throughout my life (with many fail attempts). I have always been inspired by the qualities of a leader; whether it be the captain that leads his team onto the field when I'm watching the NFL or the leader in the movie 300 that is fearless and rally his men's in a battle. Leadership seemed so appealing to me. Like why wouldn't anyone want to be a leader? That is where all the glory lies. Right? Well... That is not entirely true.

There is glory in leadership, that is for sure. But the glory is not for you, but for God. This might sound ironic and you may be thinking but why? I am the one doing all the work and making all the decisions, and I am the one person that people listen to and follow.

No, that is the mindset we must abandon to become good leaders. As Christian placed in a leadership position, we are called to serve God; to facilitate and direct others towards Him. Our mindset is to be centered on Him and our decisions are to be guided by His words. In actuality, as leaders, we are to serve ourselves last. We are to serve God first and others second. You must be able to adopt a mindset of self-forgetfulness – that is to think about yourself less and others more. Your decisions are to benefit God and others and not yourself.

Being a leader is not a light task. It is a hard job. Your decisions have more weight, people look towards you for guidance and you are held more accountable for the action you take. As Christian leaders we are to image the greatest leader of all – that is Jesus Christ. While, there have been many great leaders in the history of this world; whether it be Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln or Steve Job. None of them was as loving, compassionate and sacrificial as Christ was to us. We must learn to rely on God for guidance and strength just as Christ did. 

We will fail many times as leaders. But that is okay. We are not called to be perfect, Christ has already done that for us. What we are called to do is to be faithful in our teaching, and lead others towards God with a self-forgetfulness that place others in front of our own benefits.

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourself – Philippians 2:3 

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