Servant Leader

“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 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 10:43-45

Deafening Silence
Jumbo Shrimp
Civil War
Servant Leader

What do these figures of speech have in common? They’re all oxymorons — rhetorical devices that use contradictory terms for effect. And if you think about them for a second, they don’t make sense. But for whatever reason, the words mesh perfectly to communicate the idea.

The Bible reveals Jesus as one who always made his point with great effect, particularly to those willing to put his message into action. But instead of linking a few opposing words or phrases, God’s only Son turned entire concepts on their heads to reinterpret long-held notions about what holds true value. For example, consider his admonition to those seeking greatness:

“Whoever is the greatest should be the servant of the others. If you put yourself above others, you will be put down,” Jesus warns. “But if you humble yourself, you will be honored.”

This, of course, flies in the face of society’s “Looking-Out-for-#1” perspective. After all, how can you make it to the top if you let everyone walk all over you? 

For many people, selfishness and self-preservation would seem to be logical approaches to getting ahead and staying there. But to Christ-followers viewing things through the lens of the Gospel, it’s actually a recipe for disaster: “What will you gain if you own the whole world but destroy yourself?” Jesus asks. “What would you give to get back your soul?”

Jesus spent his brief ministry teaching from a servant-leadership perspective. And it’s through the Bible that we read how Believers should serve as his hands and feet until his return. Oftentimes that demands a completely new perspective from his would-be followers. Accepting Christ’s message is like a nearsighted child, who sees the world anew through a pair of glasses. At first, it can be awkward and difficult — and sometimes even intimidating. That’s because Jesus calls for total devotion rather than half-heartedness and non-committal. However, the eventual reward will one day make it all worthwhile:

"I tell you the truth," he told Peter, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the Gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields — and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."