Whoever Wants to be Great
“You observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant.” ~Jesus Christ ~ Matthew 20:26
There is a strong desire within every believer to do the will of the Father. Being born again, we have the nature of Christ planted within us and it causes us to have the same vision Christ had as He walked on this earth two thousand years ago. “Here I am, I have come to do Your will.” Hebrews 10:7. Whether we are in the business world, fulltime ministry or investing our lives into raising up the next generation, we are programmed by the Spirit of God to run with the same Mission Statement as our leader, Jesus Christ. We are created with a passion to achieve great things for the Kingdom of God. Jesus gave us a key to completing this call: If you want to be great in God’s kingdom become a servant.
For decades the secular business world has functioned by the motto – “serve your way to the top”. Unfortunately that line of thought often brings out a selfishly motivated quality of service, causing people to serve only those “up the ladder” and only for personal advancement. The focus becomes about serving the leader as a path to success - feed the boss, feed you. As Christians we are called to a higher purpose: to promote the greatness of God. It’s not our own promotion we seek, but His. Within that call we will encounter a structure of hierarchy, similar to the business world but we must not be entangled by position or power. We must live as Christ who said “I did not come to be served but to serve.” Matthew 20:28
We have the benefit of following the greatest CEO of all time – Jesus Christ. His example gives us the perfect model to live by. Thinking from a business standpoint, consider the Mission Statement of Christ: to seek and save that which was lost. To fulfill this plan of redemption – first and foremost His goal was complete obedience to His Father; the Visionary who set the plan into effect. Jesus recognized order and authority and He lived by it. This attitude was the foundation for His success.
The second part of His Mission Statement was to proclaim the good news about God and salvation. It is this goal to which we are invited to co-labor with Christ. While He alone accomplished the plan of redemption the propagating of the gospel requires the drafting and training of millions of laborers. He initiated that plan with only twelve and today the gospel continues to be proclaimed over every nation of the world by men and women who follow His example to obey and glorify the Father. Now that's a successful Mission Statement!
Jesus displayed amazing leadership skills and taught us how to fulfill a vision. As we serve God in our home, community, church or place of business, here are a few of His inspiring lessons to us:
One - First and foremost - it is all about obedience to the Father. “Whatever He tells you to do – do it.” These were the words Mary spoke to those serving at the wedding in Cana. When the supply of wine had run dry, she told these servants to go to Jesus. Those are wise words to live by today. Wherever you are, whatever you do with your days, whatever project you are working on, ask Jesus to bring life to it so that people around you will be saved and God will be glorified.
Two – Serve those around you by giving them wisdom from God. If you are in the secular business world remember, you don’t have to speak “Christian-ese” or add a “thus saith the Lord” to speak the Word. Just speak the truth in love. Live by and lift up the Word so that people will know the truth.
Three - For Team Leaders: Serve your team by holding up the vision before them. Jesus told His disciples where He was taking them. He told them the plan. They didn’t always understand – but He told them! He prepared them for the future. Your role as a leader is to prepare the vision for presentation; investing time in prayer, planning and pruning the vision before going to the people. Great team members want a clear plan to follow. You can have your team praying with you, you can even draw on the wisdom that God gives to others, but ultimately you have to spend the time alone with God and get the vision. The good news is, God honors people who seek His face. When you seek Him you will find He’s faithful to His Word. Look to God for the vision and hold it up well.
For Team Members: You are a vital part of the team. The success of the vision is your responsibility, too. Your attitude creates or breaks momentum, even by what you do and say privately. God has positioned you in the place you are in to make a difference. Not only do you lift up the hands of the leader, supporting the work, but you possess tremendous influence to make the team succeed by inspiring greatness in the hearts of those around you. God entrusts the vision into the leader’s heart and into your hands – you are trusted by God to bring it to pass.
This is an exciting day to live in – God is doing great things and we are privileged to be a part of it! Be encouraged and focused in purpose as you seek to live out each day employing your ability and gifts to glorify God! May you enjoy the journey and find Him to be the source of your strength in everything He calls you to accomplish. And may you live a life of service, living by and proclaiming the Word of God. May He consider you to be great!
