Monday, March 3, 2014

Dive for the Bottom

03.03.14

Mark 10.43 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. (NIV)

It is a culture of the Kingdom: the one who leads all is the one who serves all. Jesus told His men it isn’t about position, performance, or possession; it’s about caring for the needs of others by either doing it personally, or making sure personally it is done through others. That He said is true leadership – it’s a dive for the bottom.

Conversely, the world climbs for the top and uses whatever means to accomplish the climb regardless of the necks one has to step on to get there. Worldly leadership is All About Me. Godly leadership is all about others. Worldly leaders want palaces, playgrounds, and perks. In the Kingdom it is all about taking care of others needs always and whatever works, works.

Jesus’ men, like us today, struggled with the pull toward worldly leadership – it was the only model they knew. Who wouldn’t want an estate like Yanukovych’s in the Ukraine? The issue here  is that the leadership pull toward perks doesn’t inspire people to move any closer than the perks; and nothing of importance ever gets done. Yanukovych proved himself to be who he really was: all about himself and nothing about others.

Reward in the Kingdom of God is not a big estate; it’s a big heart for others. There might be estates in heaven but I really don’t think they fit in with the model of Christ on earth: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10.45 NIV)

The perk of leading in the Kingdom of God is being the slave of all. That dog just don’t hunt in this life – that is except to the one who sees what Jesus is saying and says, Lord use me, and the talents You’ve given me to influence and help as many as I can.

The one thing a godly leader can and should do is lead expeditions with others to the bottom. We need to be ready to take the next generation not to the front door of the palace but to the servant’s entrance where we belong and where we meet our King – serving the ones He loves…


Jesus, let me follow You to the bottom; help me to dive to the bottom and then lead others to do the same. The measure of our worth is not the things we possess in this life but the lives we influence for You and Your Kingdom. Help me to servant-lead with a pure, willing, and instructed heart – I pray in Your Name. Amen

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