As a youngster growing up, I recall the household responsibilities I had to complete whether I wanted to do them or not. From cleaning my room to cutting the lawn, my parents instilled a servant work ethic within me by giving me these duties around the house. Some of the duties were downright dirty and pushed me to the limit. I just did not understand why my parents had me do these things.
Like my relationship with God, I do not always understand why he wants me to experience certain things which test me spiritually. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance,” James 1:2-3, New International Version. God knows best, and my parents would remind me of that fact whenever I complained. They would say, “You may not understand it now, but you will when you have kids.” Not only did my parents want me to be a servant through completing household duties but to be a leader with my kids someday as well.
Well, now that I have kids I finally have come to the conclusion that what was good for me is good for them when it comes to building godly character. Hopefully it will manufacture a servant-leadership mindset within my kids as it does for me today as a Salvation Army officer. God is calling many of us to become servant-leaders right here within the mid-Missouri community. A servant-leader is one who has chosen to lead people by meeting their needs and adding value and meaning to their lives through the life of Christ. Doing those household duties as a youngster and having parents who kept me in church clearly contributed to me becoming who I am today in Jesus Christ, servant-leader. “… Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many,” Matthew 20:28.
This may be true whether a person knows Christ or not. For those who are not yet Christians, the servant-leader chooses to show them how they can receive forgiveness of sins with the result that they receive eternal life. For those who are Christians, value and meaning are added to their lives because the servant-leader chooses to show them by his life how their lives can make a greater impact for eternity. These are gifts from God that have the potential to impact our heart to God and service to man. My parents taught me that nothing is free; you work for it and you get paid. Spiritually we work to strengthen the body of Christ and then work to serve mankind in his name while building a good relationship with him. Payment is eternal life. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” Romans 6:23.
We are called to be servant-leaders, serving each other, following Jesus' example in washing his disciples' feet found in John chapter 13, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Along with that call to servant-leadership is the need we each have to allow ourselves to receive this free gift from Jesus, just as he washed his disciples’ feet. When Peter protested, Jesus told him, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me," John 13:8. People you know may resist and misunderstand your service to God, but take heart, because Christ is fully aware of why you go the extra mile, and he will reward you accordingly.
My parents taught me that servant leadership is a choice to follow the example of Christ through leading by serving, then becoming a humble servant and giving my life to others in Jesus' name. I’ve come to know that it’s an inner attitude of the heart by which we choose to place ourselves in the sandals of Christ and submit to his will for our lives. Christ is giving us an open invitation to follow him by serving others. Will you accept this challenge today and be the servant-leader God is calling you to be? “Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourself with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble,'” I Peter 5:5.
We are saved to serve and putting this servant-leadership lifestyle into action will give you a sense of divine freedom from fear. God will cause great things to happen within you and our mid-Missouri community by giving to others. I think this form of servant leadership will have the Christly encouragement to create a healthier future that will inspire, empower and guide others to realize their place and potential to lead our communities toward real growth and development in Jesus Christ.
It is a great privilege for me to show our up-and-coming leaders how to adore and serve God and love and serve the lost as servant-leaders by being a living example. Although I did not like cleaning up as a young boy, my parents knew it was best for me. So I say to you, love and serve others, show them how their lives here on earth can have eternal purpose and value, show them how to focus on spiritual things and not just worldly things. Yes, seeing or showing is better than believing. May the Lord richly bless you as you show others how to be a living example of Christ and becoming an effective servant-leader.
Major K. Kendall Mathews is the regional coordinator for The Salvation Army.